II' 


A  It 


1 


OR  THE  ART  OF 
KEEPING  WE: 


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Sadler   - 


The    science   of 


living 


Southern  Branch 
of  the 

University  of  California 


Los  Angeles 


Form  L J 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


BOOKS  BY  DR.  SADLER 


THE  CAUSE  AND  CURE  OF  COLDS 
With  many  drawings.    8vo.     .    .    $1.00  net. 

THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING;  OR,  THE  ART 
OF  KEEPING  WELL.  With  Appendix  and 
Index  and  many  drawings.  8vo.  $1.50  net. 

THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  FAITH  AND 
FEAR;  OR,  THE  MIND  IN  HEALTH  AND 
DISEASE.  With  Appendix  and  Index  and 
many  drawings.  8vo.  .  .  .  $1.50  net. 


A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO.,  Publishers 
CHICAGO 


OR  THE 

ART  OF   KEEPING  WELL 


BY 

WILLIAM  S.  SADLER,  M.D. 

PROFESSOR  OP  PHYSIOLOGIC  THERAPEUTICS,  THE  POST  GRADUATE  MEDICAL 
SCHOOL   OF    CHICAGO;     DIRECTOR    OF    THE   CHICAGO   INSTITUTE    OF 
PHYSIOLOGIC  THERAPEUTICS:  MEMBER  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  STATE 
MEDICAL  SOCIETY,  THE  AMERICAN  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION, 
THE  AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  ADVANCE- 
MENT OP  SCIENCE,  THE  AMERICAN  HEALTH 
LEAGUE,    THE    SIXTEENTH    INTER- 
NATIONAL   MEDICAL    CON- 
GRESS,   ETC. 
AUTHOR  OF    "  THE   CAUSE  AND  CURE  OF  COLDS  " 


ILLUSTRATED 
FOURTH  EDITION 


CHICAGO 

A.    C.    McCLURG    &    CO 
1912 


COPTBIGHT 

A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 
1910 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London;  England 
Published  March  26,  1910 

Second  Edition,  April  30,  1910 

Third  Edition,  April  1,  1911 

Fourth  Edition,  April  12,  1912 


PKESS    OP    THE    VAIL    COMPANY 
COSHOCTON,    U.    S.    A. 


1V  A 

1  5 
12. 


TO 
MY  ESTEEMED  WIPE 

DR.  LENA  K.  SADLER 

MY   PROFESSIONAL  CO-LABORER, 
FAITHFUL  HELPER,  AND  FRIENDLY   CRITIC, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS 
AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATED 


PREFACE 

THE  author's  purpose  in  this  book  is  to  present  to  the  lay 
reader,  the  teacher,  the  student,  and  the  health-seeker, 
a  concise  outline  of  Modern  Hygiene  as  developed  in  the 
great  research  laboratories  of  the  world,  free  from  scientific 
technicalities  and  medical  terms  —  to  tell  the  Story  of  Health 
in  plain,  everyday  English. 

The  largeness  of  the  scope  of  this  work  necessarily  en- 
forces brevity,  therefore  references  and  citations  are  largely 
omitted.    The  writer  has  freely  consulted  the  latest  stand- 
ard medical  text-books  on  Physiology  and  Hygiene,  although 
\  much  of  the  matter  appearing  in  this  volume  is  drawn  from 
^    his  own  lectures,  "  The  Natural  Life,"  "  The  Art  of  Living/' 
"The  High  Pressure  Life,"  "How  the  Body  Resists  Dis- 
ease," "  Worry :    Its  Cause  and  Cure,"  and  others. 

His  aim  is  to  present  a  practical,  sane,  and  sensible 
method  of  living  the  Simple  Life  —  free  from  fads  and  the 
teachings  of  fanatical  extremists. 

^       Almost  every  new  moon  witnesses  the  birth  of  some  new 
Jj    system  of  healing.    The  public  is  deluged  with  the  teach- 
ings of  various  cults  and  "  isms,"  the  majority  of  which, 
^j    directly  or  indirectly,  have  to  do  with  health  and  healing. 
^p  Because  of  these  numerous  systems  of  healing,  sailing  under 
various  guises,  there  seems  to  exist  a  real  necessity  for  a 
straightforward   presentation   of  the   latest  discoveries   and 
decrees  of  science,  respecting  the  standards  of  living  neces- 
sary to  the  maintenance  of  good  physical  health. 

Many  problems  of  physics  and  chemistry  are  concerned 
in  the  human  body;  and  for  the  sake  of  those  who  may  be 
interested  in  these  problems,  brief  notes  appear  through 
the  book,  considering  them  as  related  to  health.  A  brief 
outline  of  the  physiology  and  anatomy  concerned  is  also  to 
be  found  in  most  of  the  chapters. 

vii 


via  .      PREFACE 

Mind  and  matter  are  closely  related  in  the  organization 
of  the  human  body.  The  health  of  the  body  is  not  regulated 
entirely  by  physical  laws  and  rules  of  hygiene.  The  men- 
tal condition  of  the  individual,  his  social  surroundings,  and 
even  his  moral  state,  are  all  involved  in  the  consideration  of 
health  and  disease. 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  deal  with  vague  theories,  or  to 
discuss  the  philosophy  of  health.  The  aim  is  to  furnish 
practical  instruction,  such  as  has  proved  useful  to  the  thou- 
sands who  have  attended  the  author's  lectures  at  Chautau- 
quas  and  other  assemblies. 

If  the  reader  can  be  convinced  that  health  and  disease  are 
not  matters  of  chance ;  that  they  are  regulated  by  the  univer- 
sal laws  of  sowing  and  reaping;  that  health  when  once  lost 
is  ordinarily  regained  only  by  faithful  cultivation ;  that  dis- 
ease is  due  neither  to  the  anger  of  the  gods  nor  to  a  mys- 
terious dispensation  of  Providence;  that  sickness  is  a  con- 
sequence, directly  or  indirectly,  of  a  violation  of  Nature's 
laws:  if  these  fundamental  principles  of  health  and  disease 
are  made  plainer  to  the  reader,  and  if  the  pathway  to  health 
can  be  more  clearly  opened  up,  then  this  book  will  have  ac- 
complished its  mission  and  fulfilled  the  design  of  its  author. 

WILLIAM  S.  SADLER. 
100  Staff  Street,  Chicago,  Feb.  i,  1010. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    INTRODUCTORY i 

II.    THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY 5 

III.  THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT 15 

IV.  NATURAL  BREATHING,  OR  THE  VITALIZED  LIFE  .     .    25 
V.  MUSCULAR  EXERCISE,  OR  THE  ACTIVE  LIFE  ...    35 

VI.  THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY  .     .     .     .     ;    48 

VII.    THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION 63 

VIII.    THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 77 

IX.    A  STUDY  OF  FOODS 104 

X.    POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS 129 

XI.  SIMPLE  EATING,  OR  THE  NOURISHED  LIFE  .     .     .     .143 

XII.    MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS 159 

XIII.  PURE  WATER  DRINKING,  OR  THE  REFRESHED  LIFE  .  176 

XIV.  REGULAR  BATHING,  OR  THE  CLEAN  LIFE  .     .     .     .195 
XV.  THE  CIRCULATION,  OR  THE  HIGH-PRESSURE  LIFE  .  212 

XVI.    How  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE 234 

XVII.  REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE  ....  250 

XVIII.    FRESH   AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE 267 

XIX.    THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY 278 

XX.    THE  CURE  OF  WORRY 291 

XXI.  HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION,  OR  THE  PREVENTION  OF 

DISEASE 306 

XXII.  HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION,  OR  THE  PREVENTION  OF 

DISEASE    (CONTINUED) 327 

XXIII.    HEALTH  HINTS 347 

APPENDIX 367 

FOOD   TABLES 370 

INDEX 387 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


PAGE 

FIG.    i.    Living  Cells,  Animal  and  Vegetable 4 

'  FIGS.  2,  3.    Diagrams  illustrating  Cell  Reproduction  ...      6 

FIG.    4.    Various  Cells  of  the  Body 10 

FIG.    5.    The  Lungs  and  Terminal  Bronchiole 26 

Flo.  6.  Diagrams  illustrating  Right  and  Wrong  Breathing  28 
FIG.  7.  Diagrams  showing  Method  of  taking  Special 

Breathing  Exercises 30 

FIG.    8.    Improper   Sitting   Posture 38 

FIG.    9.    Sitting  in  the  "  Reformed  Chair  " .38 

FIG.  10.    Diagrams  showing  how  to  secure  Proper  Stand- 
ing and  Sitting  Positions .    -40 

FIG.  n.    Various  Fashion  Deformities 54 

FIG.  12.    Venus  de  Milo 56 

FIG.  13.    Diagram  of  the  Digestive  System 64 

FIG.  14.  Diagram  illustrating  the  Pawlow  Stomach  ...  72 
FIG.  15.  The  Muscles  Concerned  in  Swallowing  and  the 

Taste  Buds 148 

FIG.  16.    Diagrams  showing  Effect  of   Cooking  on   Starch 

Granules 150 

FIG.  17.    The  Kidney 200 

FIG.  18.    Cabinet  Bath 200 

FIG.  19.    Illustrations  of  the  Wet  Sheet  Pack 210 

FIG.  20.    Diagrams  showing  the  Heart  and  the  Circulation 
of  the   Blood  and  the   Method  of  taking  the 

Blood   Pressure 214 

FIG.  21.  Cold  Mitten  Friction  and  the  Sun  Bath  ....  228 
FIGS.  22-26.  How  the  Body  resists  Disease  ....  240 
FIGS.  27-30.  How  the  Body  resists  Disease  ....  244 
FIG.  31.  The  Nervous  System  and  the  Nerves  ....  252 

FIG.  32.    The   Sympathetic   Nervous   System 254 

FIGS.  33-38.    Ventilation  Diagrams     .     .     .     .     ...     .     .  274 

FIG.  39.    A  Group  of  Disease  Germs        310 

FIG.  40.    A   Group   of   Animal    Parasites 312 

FIG.  41.    Flies  as  Disease  Carriers »     .     .  328 

FIG.  42.    How  to  sleep  Out-of-Doors 340 

xi 


THE  SCIENCE  OF   LIVING 

OR 

THE  ART  OF  KEEPING  WELL 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

CELL  INSTINCT. —  ANIMAL   INSTINCTS. —  HEALTH   AND  DISEASE. — 
THE  CONQUEST  OF  DISEASE. —  HYGIENIC  SPENDTHRIFTS. 

THE  secret  of  life  has  puzzled  the  wisest  of  all  ages. 
The  mystery  of  being,  whether  manifested  in  the  mi- 
crobe or  in  man,  presents  a  thousand  problems  too  wonderful 
to  be  grasped. 

CELL   INSTINCT 

It  is  certain  that  all  living  cells,  vegetable  and  animal, 
possess  a  kindred  intelligence  which  constantly  leads  them 
in  the  direction  of  growth,  self-preservation,  and  the  re- 
production of  their  kind. 

On  one  hand  is  the  blind,  unreasoning  show  of  force  and 
energy  in  the  world  of  inanimate  things;  on  the  other  hand, 
and  removed  from  it  by  all  the  distance  in  the  world,  are 
the  vital  energy  and  seemingly  intelligent  behavior  of  the 
various  cells  of  the  animal  body  which  exhibit  such  won- 
derful adaptability  and  show  of  purpose  in  their  power  to 
accord  with  their  ever-changing  surroundings,  in  the  work 
of  maintaining  the  body's  health  and  defending  it  against 
disease. 

This  unique  intelligence  or  instinct  of  cell-life  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  human  species.  The  marvellously  wrought  nest 
of  the  oriole,  the  ingenious  dam  of  the  beaver,  the  subter- 
ranean passageways  of  the  underground  mansion  of  the 
1  I 


2  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

tarantula,  the  almost  human  ingenuity  shown  by  the  various 
ant  tribes  in  the  construction  of  their  dwelling-places,  the 
skilful  silkworm  spinners,  and  even  the  common  spider  in 
the  weaving  of  its  web,  all  bear  testimony  to  the  universal 
intelligence  pervading  the  animal  world,  ever  wisely  guiding 
it  in  the  activities  necessary  to  life,  safety,  and  comfort. 
Even  the  plants  are  not  devoid  of  this  peculiar  intelligence. 
Timepieces  have  been  designed,  called  botanical  clocks,  hav- 
ing various  plants  which  open  or  bloom  at  stated  hours, 
planted  in  the  proper  position  upon  the  earthly  dial,  which 
will  accurately  indicate  the  time,  day  or  night,  within  a 
few  minutes. 

ANIMAL   INSTINCTS 

Man,  in  common  with  the  lower  animals,  possesses  many 
natural  instincts  such  as  taste,  hunger,  and  thirst,  designed 
to  guide  him  in  the  pursuit  of  health  and  happiness; 
but,  unfortunately,  these  intuitions  have  been  blunted  or 
destroyed  by  his  unnatural  ways  of  living.  Obedience 
to  the  laws  of  hygiene  —  the  adoption  of  right  methods 
of  living  —  will  result  in  greatly  restoring  these  injured 
sensibilities. 

The  homing  pigeon  circles  in  the  air,  then  starts  in  a 
straight  line  for  home.  The  sense  of  smell,  so  keen  in  the 
dog,  is  almost  obliterated  in  man.  Man's  sense  of  hearing 
is  much  less  acute  than  that  of  the  lower  animals. 

Sensations  of  fatigue  and  pain  are  friendly  voices  of 
warning.  They  might  be  called  the  conscience  of  the  body, 
warning  us  against  disregard  of  Nature's  laws.  Pain  has 
been  called  the  prayer  of  the  nerve  for  rest  or  relief.  Even 
the  power  to  awaken  morning  by  morning  is  a  marvellous 
attribute  of  animal  life,  which  has  not  yet  been  wholly  ex- 
plained by  modern  science. 

As  the  attraction  of  gravitation  seems  to  draw  together 
and  unify  the  matter  and  energy  of  the  inanimate  world,  so 
cell-instinct,  intelligence  —  call  it  what  you  will  —  is  the 
unifying,  directing  impulse  of  living  bodies  which,  after  all, 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

are  but  collections  of  tiny  living  creatures  called  cells.     (See 
Fig.  i.) 

HEALTH    AND   DISEASE 

When  all  the  cells  of  the  human  body  act  in  a  normal 
manner ;  when  nothing  is  present  to  irritate  or  destroy  them ; 
when  each  little  separate  cell  is  healthy  in  body  and  properly 
performs  its  functions,  we  have  a  bodily  condition  known 
as  "  health."  When  the  cells  of  the  body  are  poisoned,  irri- 
tated, or  otherwise  crippled  or  destroyed,  so  that  they  are 
unable  to  perform  their  work  properly,  some  form  of  acute 
or  chronic  disease  results. 

Health  results  when  the  body  is  working  under  favorable 
and  natural  conditions;  the  same  laws  of  being  produce 
disease  when  the  body  is  compelled  to  do  its  work  under 
unfavorable  and  unnatural  conditions  —  unsanitary  or  un- 
hygienic surroundings. 

In  recent  years  the  methods  of  studying  health  and  in- 
vestigating disease  have  greatly  changed.  The  modern  labo- 
ratory, with  its  instruments  of  precision,  its  great  facilities 
for  physical  and  chemical  research,  has  given  birth  to  the 
present-day  system  of  preventive  medicine  or  modern 
hygiene. 

THE    CONQUEST    OF   DISEASE. 

Science  is  rapidly  achieving  the  conquest  of  the  great 
world-plagues  and  many  death-dealing  diseases  which  af- 
flict the  human  race.  In  the  face  of  this  great  victory  we 
are  compelled  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  majority  of 
chronic  diseases,  resulting  from  the  disregard  of  the  laws 
of  hygiene,  are  enormously  on  the  increase.  While  the 
dangers  of  the  so-called  "  germ  diseases  "  are  being  lessened, 
the  "  habit  diseases,"  those  resulting  from  wrong  practices 
of  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  etc.,  are  greatly  on  the  in- 
crease —  yes,  they  are  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds. 

A  world-wide  struggle  is  now  going  on  between  the  ma- 
lignant forces  of  disease  and  the  trained  forces  of  science. 


4  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Science  wages  this  war  in  the  arena  of  hygiene  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  race.  A  thousand  and  one  agencies  are 
constantly  at  work  to  accomplish  man's  destruction;  and  the 
modern  science  of  hygiene  represents  the  rules  of  success- 
ful warfare  by  which  the  earnest  health-seeker  may  maintain 
or  regain  the  priceless  boon  of  health. 

The  human  body  possesses  great  inherent  capacity  for 
automatic  self-repair.  There  are  resident  within  the  body 
itself,  extraordinary  and  marvellous  powers  of  resistance 
against  the  unfriendly  forces  of  disease.  When  the  body  is 
combating  the  invading  foes  of  health,  its  success  or  defeat 
in  the  vital  struggle  is  often  determined  by  our  ignorance  of 
or  inattention  to  the  laws  of  hygiene  —  the  divine  rules  of  life 
and  health. 

HYGIENIC    SPENDTHRIFTS 

We  all  know  men  "and  women  who  seem  to  enjoy  good 
health  in  spite  of  their  utter  disregard  of  all  the  laws  of 
hygiene.  These  people  prove  a  stumbling-block  to  many 
earnest  health-seekers,  who  cannot  understand  how  some 
people  can  enjoy  health  though  they  live  at  variance  with 
all  its  rules.  The  explanation  is  simple:  they  inherited  a 
vast  legacy  of  strength  and  vitality  from  their  ancestors, 
more,  perhaps,  than  can  be  squandered  in  a  single  lifetime; 
but  it  will  be  observed  that  many  of  these  hygienic  spend- 
thrifts exhibit  in  the  lives  of  their  posterity  the  results  of 
their  own  foolish  living.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  their 
children  are  found  to  be  weak  and  diseased.  Like  the  ex- 
travagant sons  of  a  wealthy  father,  they  are  able  luxuriously 
to  spend  their  inherited  vital  riches  without  a  sense  of  dep- 
rivation during  their  own  lifetimes,  but  having  thus  ex- 
hausted the  riches  of  inherited  physical  wealth,  they  are 
unable  to  bequeath  vital  energy  and  resistance  to  succeeding 
generations;  and  the  weazened,  pale,  and  sickly  children  of 
such  parents  testify  to  the  infallible  operation  of  the  uni- 
versal law  of  sowing  and  reaping.  "  The  fathers  have  eaten 
sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge." 


»»    t    •  t&  J 


Typhoid  Germs 


(/5  Germs 


6/-oi//>  of  4mof*t>ae  (  S/jgnanl  Wiftr) 


(Ram  Water) 


Vorr,ce//a   (.8,1 1  Ani 


/tutor     (Gray  Mould) 


(  Green  Scum) 


Starch    Cells 


Blood  Cells 


rat    Cells 


FIG.  I.-    Living  Cells.-     Animal  and  Vegefable. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY 

SPECIALIZED  CELLS. —  WONDERFUL  SIMPLICITY. —  EPITHELIAL  CETJ.S. 
—  CONNECTIVE  TISSUE  CELLS. —  MUSCLE  CELLS. —  BLOOD  CELLS 
AND  BLOOD-VESSELS. —  THE  RED  BLOOD  CORPUSCLES. —  THE  WHITE 
BLOOD  CORPUSCLES. —  THE  WHITE  CELLS  IN  OLD  AGE. —  THE 
LYMPH  CELLS. —  NERVE  CELLS. —  SYMPATHETIC  NERVES. —  THE 
BODY  A  COMMONWEALTH. 

THE  human  body  may  be  compared  to  an  elaborate  brick 
mansion,  with  an  almost  infinite  number  of  apartments. 
The  cells  of  the  body  may  be  compared  to  the  bricks  of  the 
mansion  —  living  bricks,  held  together  by  a  wonderful  ce- 
ment —  a  substance  secreted  by  the  living  cells  themselves. 

The  cells  of  both  vegetable  and  animal  tissues  are  con- 
stantly changing.  Some  live  for  days,  months,  or  even 
years;  others  live  but  a  few  hours.  There  is,  therefore,  ne- 
cessity for  constant  creation  of  new  cells.  This  is  accom- 
plished in  two  ways: 

1.  The  one-celled  organisms,  such  as  the  amoeba,  repro- 
duce  themselves   by   a    simple   division   of  the   body.     The 
original  "  mother "  cell   divides  into  two  new  "  daughter " 
cells,  which  grow  up  and  reproduce   themselves  after  the 
same  manner.     (See  Fig.  2.) 

2.  In  the  living  beings  higher  up  in  the  scale  of  life,  a 
more  complicated  process  of  cell  reproduction  occurs.    Cer- 
tain changes  take  place  in  the  centre  of  the  cell,  after  which 
this  central  portion  divides  into  two  halves,  each  taking  up 
a  different  position  in  the  cell  body,  and  subsequently  the 
cell  itself  divides.     (See  Fig.  3.) 

The  cells  of  ordinary  yeast  reproduce  themselves  by  a 
budding  process.  Little  branches  bud  out  from  the  parent 
cell,  and  sometimes  three  or  four  generations  will  be  found 
existing  together  at  one  time.  (See  Fig.  i.) 

5 


6  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

SPECIALIZED    CELLS. 

In  many  respects  all  the  cells  of  the  body  are  alike,  but 
in  form  and  function  they  differ  greatly.  The  brain  cells 
are  devoted  to  thinking;  the  stomach  cells  to  secreting  gas- 
tric juice;  the  liver  cells  to  destroying  body  poisons;  the 
muscle  cells  to  contraction,  etc.  Some  idea  of  the  enormous 
number  of  cells  united  together  in  the  body,  may  be  had 
from  the  estimate  of  a  German  scientist,  who  ventured  the 
guess  that  there  were  26,500,000,000,000  cells  in  the  human 
form. 

Living  cells  consist  of  protoplasm,  a  living  substance  re- 
sembling the  white  of  an  egg.  Protoplasm  contracts  and 
expands  under  the  influence  of  heat  and  cold  or  mechanical 
irritation.  It  secretes  digestive  substances,  and  possesses  the 
wonderful  power  of  self-division,  by  which  it  can  reproduce 
itself  and  thus  perpetuate  its  existence. 

Protoplasm  is  composed  of  certain  simple  chemical  ele- 
ments —  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen,  carbon,  sulphur,  and 
phosphorus.  It  is  simply  "  living  dust,"  or  what  some  one 
has  termed  "  illuminated  dust."  When  the  life  has  departed 
from  the  cell,  it  is  found  to  consist  of  nothing  more  or  less 
than  certain  dead  chemical  substances  with  which  the  earth 
itself  abounds. 

WONDERFUL    SIMPLICITY. 

Many  of  the  cells  of  the  body  are  the  same  in  structure  as 
that  one-celled  organism,  the  amoeba,  found  in  stagnant  pools ; 
and  they  are  very  similar  to  it  even  in  function.  (See  Figs, 
i,  2.)  This  unique  little  animal,  although  it  has  no  legs, 
when  it  desires  to  go  from  one  place  to  another,  simply  pushes 
out  a  little,  arm-like  projection,  its  body  going  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  in  this  way  it  moves  about  in  quest  of  food.  Hav- 
ing no  lungs,  it  breathes  with  the  entire  surface  of  its  body. 
It  has  no  muscles,  and  yet  it  can  contract,  expand,  and  con- 
tort its  body.  It  apparently  has  no  brain  or  nervous  system, 
and  yet  it  seems  to  show  thought  in  its  movements  for  self- 
protection,  etc.  It  has  no  stomach,  and  yet  it  eats  smaller 


FIG  2."  Simple   Division  -  THE  AMCEDA. 


FIG.J."   Complex.  Division  •  Ce/ls  of  higher  An  i/na/s 


JJiagrams   illustrating    cell  reproduction. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY          7 

organisms  and  digests  them  within  a  temporary  stomach  of 
its  body  created  for  this  purpose,  which  disappears  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  meal.  It  has  no  organs  of  elimination,  and 
yet  it  casts  out  from  its  body  both  solid  and  liquid  refuse. 
Scientists  call  this  little  animal  a  "  simple  organism  " ;  but  a 
single-cell  body,  seen  only  through  the  microscope,  which 
can  accomplish  all  these  wonders  without  special  organs, 
cannot  but  impress  one  as  being  a  very  wonderful  and  com- 
plicated little  being.  In  the  human  body  the  cells  do  not 
possess  the  wonderful  versatility  of  the  amoeba. 

The  amceba  represents  primitive  society,  in  which  every 
man  was  his  own  blacksmith,  carpenter,  shoemaker,  miller, 
etc.;  whereas  the  cells  of  the  human  body  represent  condi- 
tions found  in  modern  society,  where  every  man  works  at 
his  own  trade.  The  carpenter  works  in  wood,  buying  his 
shoes  from  the  shoemaker  and  his  flour  from  the  miller. 
Every  cell  in  the  human  body  has  a  special  work  to  do.  The 
human  body  represents  the  highest  specialization  of  cell- 
function  to  be  found  in  the  animal  world. 

It  will  now  be  in  order  to  review  briefly  and  systematically 
the  various  cells  and  tissues  of  the  body,  before  taking  up 
the  study  of  their  hygiene.  The  cells  or  tissues  of  the 
body  may  be  divided  into  five  classes: 

1.  Epithelial  tissues, 

2.  Connective  tissues, 

3.  Muscle  tissues, 

4.  Blood  and  blood-vessels, 

5.  Nerve  tissues. 

EPITHELIAL   CELLS 

Epithelial  cells  are  found  wherever  the  body  needs  pro- 
tection, as  in  the  case  of  the  skin.  The  lining  of  the  lungs, 
kidney,  stomach,  bowels,  and  other  internal  organs,  also  con- 
sist of  epithelium.  (See  Fig.  4.)  In  the  lungs  the  epithe- 
lium is  so  thin  that  gases  can  readily  pass  through  it;  in 
the  stomach,  liver,  etc.,  it  secretes  digestive  fluids;  while  in 
the  intestines  it  is  able  to  gather  up  and 'absorb  the  digested 
food  and  carry  it  into  the  blood. 


8  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

In  some  portions  of  the  air  passages,  the  epithelial  cells 
have  power  to  move  fluids  or  solids  over  their  surface  by 
means  of  little  cilia  or  hair-like  projections,  which  execute 
a  waving  motion  in  a  given  direction.  These  cells  consist 
of  ciliated  epithelium.  (See  Fig.  4.) 

The  skin  is  made  up  of  several  layers  of  epithelial  cells; 
the  outer  or  "  horny  "  layer  is  very  similar  to  the  hoofs  of 
animals.  The  finger  nails  and  toe  nails  are  a  special  forma- 
tion of  this  horny  layer  of  the  skin.  Corns  are  formed  by 
the  long-continued  irritation  of  this  horny  layer  of  the  skin, 
causing  an  increased  production  of  these  cells. 

The  average  person  has  about  seventeen  square  feet  of 
skin.  Under  the  microscope,  this  skin  surface  looks  like  a 
vast  mountain  range,  and  because  of  its  uneven  surface 
(many  of  the  glands  opening  on  the  sides  of  these  eleva- 
tions) we  have  the  anomaly  of  thirty-two  thousand  square 
feet  of  sweat  glands  opening  on  only  seventeen  square  feet 
of  skin. 

There  are  twenty-five  hundred  little  sweat  pores  to  the 
square  inch  in  some  parts  of  the  body;  and  one  anatomist 
has  estimated  that  if  all  the  little  sweat  tubes  which  pass 
out  through  the  skin,  were  united  end  to  end,  they  would 
make  a  sewer  ten  miles  long. 

The  hairs  grow  out  from  the  deeper  layers  of  the  skin  and 
are  very  thick  in  some  places.  Growing  from  the  head  of 
the  average  individual  who  is  not  afflicted  with  that  de- 
ficiency of  covering  sometimes  observed  in  the  autumn  of 
life,  there  are  to  be  found  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  hairs. 

The  epithelial  lining  of  the  lungs  amounts  to  about  two 
thousand  square  feet,  being  equivalent  to  a  lot  about  fifty 
by  forty  feet.  One  authority  has  estimated  that  there  are 
725,000,000  of  little  terminal  air  sacs,  through  whose  thin 
walls  the  respiratory  gases  are  exchanged. 

The  mucous  membrane  lining  the  bowel  consists  of  about 
eighty  square  feet  of  epithelium,  while  the  little  suction 
pumps  of  the  intestines,  which  draw  up  and  absorb  the  di- 
gested food,  are  thought  to  number  about  ten  millions. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY 


CONNECTIVE   TISSUE   CELLS 

The  connective  tissues  consist  of  various  cells,  which  are 
built  into  structures  for  holding  the  body  together.  (See 
Fig.  4.)  Subcutaneous  tissue  resembles  mosquito-bar  and 
binds  the  skin  to  the  muscles.  Another  form  of  connective 
tissue  is  the  tendon  —  white  fibrous  tissue  —  which  binds 
the  muscles  to  the  bones.  Yellow  elastic  tissue,  found  in 
some  of  the  ligaments,  also  belongs  to  this  class. 

Adipose,  or  fatty  tissue,  is  another  variety  of  connective 
tissue.  The  fat-cell  is  simply  a  cell  in  which  the  protoplasm 
has  been  largely  replaced  by  fat.  These  cells  serve  the 
double  purpose  of  rounding  out  the  form  and  providing  a 
fuel  reserve.  In  case  of  starvation  it  is  the  first  tissue  to 
be  yielded  up  to  the  body's  demand  for  heat  and  energy. 
Cartilage  is  another  connective  tissue  found  on  the  ends  of 
bones,  separating  them  where  they  come  in  contact. 

The  bones,  forming  the  framework  or  skeleton  of  the  body, 
belong  to  the  connective  tissues.  The  human  body  contains 
over  two  hundred  distinct  and  separate  bones,  which  serve 
for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  and,  in  connection  with  the 
muscular  system,  constitute  man  a  great  working  machine, 
representing  in  his  anatomy  almost  every  known  principle 
of  mechanical  leverage. 

MUSCLE    CELLS 

We  have  two  forms  of  muscular  tissue,  the  voluntary  or 
striated,  and  the  involuntary  or  non-striated.  (See  Fig.  4.) 
The  voluntary  muscles  receive  their  nerve  supply  largely 
from  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  The  involuntary  muscles, 
which  are  chiefly  found  in  the  internal  organs  —  the  in- 
testines, blood-vessels,  etc. —  receive  their  nerve  supply  from 
the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  whose  great  nerve  centre 
is  located  in  the  abdomen.  Six  hundred  of  the  voluntary 
muscles  in  the  body  have  been  named. 

The  heart  is  a  special  form  of  muscle  —  one  of  the  most 
powerful  in  the  body.  The  first  day  of  an  infant's  life, 


10  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

this  wonderful  muscle  contracts  and  expands  two  hundred 
thousand  times.  In  the  average  adult  the  heart  beats  over 
one  hundred  thousand  times  a  day,  or  thirty-seven  million 
times  a  year;  while  in  a  man  seventy  years  of  age,  this 
marvellous  living  pump  has  discharged  its  six  ounces  of 
blood  at  each  beat,  the  enormous  number  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred million  times.  The  amount  of  work  done  by  the  heart 
in  seventy  years  of  service  represents  the  lifting  of  almost 
half  a  million  tons. 

BLOOD   CELLS   AND   BLOOD-VESSELS 

These  living  tubes  consist  of  three  layers  of  muscles,  con- 
nective tissue,  and  a  lining  which  is  called  endothelium. 
The  smallest  vessels  —  the  capillaries  —  are  just  large 
enough  for  the  blood  corpuscles  to  pass  through  in  single 
file.  The  capillaries  connect  the  veins  with  the  arteries,  and 
are  largely  found  in  the  skin  and  internal  organs.  (See 
Fig.  4.)  While  the  heart  is  a  central  pump  starting  the 
blood-stream,  the  arteries  perform  a  regular  milking  move- 
ment, which  is  very  important  to  the  circulation  of  the 
blood. 

Much  of  the  liquid  portion  of  the  blood  is  allowed  to 
pass  out  through  the  endothelial  walls  of  the  capillaries  to 
bathe  the  tissues  with  its  nourishing  substance.  This  es- 
caped portion  of  the  blood-stream  is  gathered  up  in  the 
lymph  spaces  and,  by  means  of  the  lymphatic  channels,  is 
carried  back  to  the  blood-vessels. 

The  human  body  has  five  hundred  and  fifty  arteries  which 
have  been  dignified  with  names,  while  anatomists  have  esti- 
mated that  all  the  blood-vessels  in  the  body  if  placed  end 
to  end,  would  make  a  great  blood-channel  one  thousand 
miles  long. 

THE   RED    BLOOD   CORPUSCLES 

The  blood  and  lymph  cells  differ  from  those  of  the  rest 
of  the  body  cells  in  that  they  float  about  in  the  body  fluids, 
while  the  other  cells  have  a  fixed  location.  The  red  blood 


A  0 


o 


0 


Red  Cells  White    Cells 

Blood  Cells 


Simple 


Ciliated  Stratified 

Epithelial    Cells 


Cartilage          Elastic  Fibres 
Connective    Tissue     Cells 


Voluntary  Muscle  Cells 
Muscle     Cells 


Capillary  Heart  Muscle 

B/ood    Vessels 


FIG. 4.-  Various  Cells  of  the  Body. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY        II 

corpuscles  are  little  round  cells  about  1-3200  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  (See  Fig.  4.)  There  are  several  millions  of 
these  tiny  creatures  in  a  single  drop  of  rich,  red  blood. 
These  cells  owe  their  red  color  to  the  combined  iron  and 
oxygen  found  in  their  bodies.  They  travel  to  the  lungs, 
giving  up  the  carbonic  acid  gas  (CO2)  taken  up  from  the 
tissues,  receiving  oxygen  in  exchange,  which  in  turn  is  car- 
ried to  the  tissues. 

THE    WHITE   BLOOD   CORPUSCLES 

These  wonderful  little  cells  can  wrap  themselves  around 
a  disease  germ  and  literally  eat  it  up.  (See  Fig.  4.)  It 
is  due  to  the  presence  of  these  little  white  cells  in  the 
blood  that  we  are  able  to  fight  numerous  diseases  and  to 
destroy  the  germs  of  many  an  infectious  malady.  They  are 
found  in  the  blood  in  three  different  sizes  —  small,  medium, 
and  large,  and  are  more  commonly  called  leucocytes. 

These  little  white  cells  are  very  courageous  in  their  at- 
tacks upon  some  disease  germs,  but  are  very  cowardly  in 
approaching  others ;  for  instance  —  the  pneumonia  germ. 
Under  no  circumstances  will  they  attack  the  pneumonia  germ 
until  the  body  has  secreted  a  substance  called  opsonin. 
This  opsonin  serves  either  as  a  condiment  on  the  pneumonia 
germ,  to  make  it  more  palatable,  or  else  as  a  stimulant  to 
the  fighting  powers  of  the  white  blood  cell,  or  perhaps  both 
purposes.  After  the  secretion  of  opsonin  into  the  blood- 
stream, which  occurs  at  or  just  before  the  so-called  "  crisis  " 
of  the  disease,  the  white  blood  cells  go  out  and  furiously 
attack  the  pneumonia  germs,  clearing  up  the  blood  of  these 
destroying  agents  within  a  very  few  hours,  the  patient  break- 
ing out  into  a  gentle  perspiration,  which  is  soon  followed 
by  calm  sleep. 

The  sick  one  has  now  passed  the  crisis  and  is  on  the  road 
to  recovery.  How  many  who  have  observed  such  a  phe- 
nomenon, have  ever  paused  to  consider  what  an  important 
part  was  played  by  these  tiny  white  blood  cells  —  these 
valiant  little  creatures  which  very  aptly  have  been  called 
"  first  aid  "  cells  and  the  "  standing  army  of  the  interior  "  ? 


12  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

They  are  the  scavengers  of  the  body,  as  well  as  the  soldiers, 
as  they  clear  up  the  refuse  from  the  battlefield  of  life. 

THE    WHITE    CELLS    IN    OLD   AGE 

When  the  white  blood  cells  are  compelled  constantly  to 
live  in  an  irritating  blood-stream  filled  with  the  poisons  of 
narcotics,  alcohol,  and  numerous  other  drugs,  or  when  the 
blood-stream  is  surcharged  with  poisonous  elements  ab- 
sorbed from  the  bowel  in  chronic  indigestion  or  constipation 
—  after  years  of  such  poisoning  these  policemen  of  the  body 
become  perverted  in  their  instincts.  They  become,  as  it 
were,  intoxicated,  and  instead  of  performing  their  custom- 
ary work  of  protecting  the  body  against  disease  germs, 
they  actually  turn  insurgent  —  attack  the  body  cells  —  liter- 
ally devour  the  body  itself,  actually  eat  up  some  of  the  brain 
cells,  kidney  cells,  etc.;  and  this,  as  Professor  Metchnikoff 
has  shown,  contributes  to  the  bringing  on  of  a  large  number 
of  the  manifestations  of  old  age. 

THE   LYMPH    CELLS 

The  lymph  cells  resemble  the  larger  white  blood  corpus- 
cles. They  are  sturdy  little  fighters  in  the  battle  against 
infection,  having  their  residence  in  the  lymph  glands,  the 
swelling  of  which  indicates  that  that  region  of  the  body  is 
beset  by  some  of  the  many  foes  of  life  and  health,  and  that 
Nature  is  enlarging  her  fortifications  —  spreading  out  her 
works  of  defence  —  to  increase  enormously  the  production  of 
lymph  cells. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  thirty  thousand  million  red 
corpuscles  in  the  blood  and  sixty  million  white  cells.  It 
requires  three  thousand  blood  corpuscles  placed  in  a  row 
to  make  one  inch. 

The  blood  cells  must  constantly  be  renewed.  The  average 
length  of  life  of  many  of  the  white  blood  corpuscles  is  less 
than  twenty-four  hours,  owing  to  the  hazardous  nature  of 
their  calling  in  the  defence  of  the  body  against  disease. 
This  necessitates  a  constant  creation  of  blood  cells  to  re- 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY         13 

emit  the  depleted  ranks  of  these  body-defenders.  It  has 
been  computed,  therefore,  that  white  and  red  blood  cells  are 
created  as  follows: 

i  day,  about  700,000,000  cells, 
i  hour,  about  30,000,000  cells. 
I  minute,  about  500,000  cells, 
i  second,  about  8,000  cells. 

NERVE   CELLS 

The  voluntary  nervous  system,  having  its  headquarters  in 
the  brain,  sends  branches  from  the  spinal  cord  to  every 
part  of  the  body.  These  living  wires  carry  messages  to  and 
from  the  brain.  (See  Fig.  4.) 

The  unit  of  the  nervous  system  is  called  a  neuron,  consist- 
ing of  a  cell  body  usually  having  one  large  branch  which 
carries  messages  away  from  the  cell,  while  it  has  many 
smaller  branches  bringing  impressions  to  the  cell.  Different 
nerve  cells  and  their  branches  are  never  actually  connected. 
They  merely  touch  each  other,  so  that  the  nerve  paths  from 
the  feet  to  the  brain  are  not  really  continuous,  all  impulses 
having  to  pass  through  a  number  of  relay  stations  and  over 
several  different  nerves. 

SYMPATHETIC    NERVES 

The  sympathetic  nervous  system  —  the  involuntary  nerves 
—  do  not  enter  the  brain.  They  are  found  along  either  side 
of  the  spinal  column,  in  the  chest,  abdomen,  and  pelvis. 
They  send  branches  to  the  nerves  which  go  to  the  brain, 
and  form  a  great  mass  of  nerve  matter  called  the  solar  plexus, 
or  "  abdominal  brain,"  which  has  much  to  do  with  the  va- 
rious vital  organs. 

There  are  thousands  of  living  nerve  wires  passing  to  and 
from  the  nerve  centres.  A  noted  oculist  estimates  that  there 
are  one  million  fibres  in  the  optic  nerve  —  the  nerve  of 
sight.  The  organ  of  Corti,  the  harp-like  structure  connected 
with  the  sense  of  hearing,  contains  twenty-six  thousand 
cells  in  its  pillars,  while  there  are  estimated  to  be  twenty-four 


14  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

thousand  fibres  in  the  floor  upon  which  the  pillars  rest.  One 
scientist  has  estimated  that  there  are  over  two  thousand 
million  nerve  cells  in  the  brain  and  spinal  cord. 

THE   BODY   A    COMMONWEALTH 

The  body  is  thus  found  to  be  a  great  commonwealth  of 
living  cells.  The  skeleton  serves  as  the  framework;  the 
muscles  and  tendons  are  the  machinery  by  which  it  is 
moved;  the  various  connective  tissues  bind  muscles  and 
bones  together;  the  fatty  tissues  fill  in  and  round  out  the 
structure ;  the  great  blood  and  lymph  systems  are  vital 
canals  through  which  flow  the  streams  of  life,  and  by  which 
the  body  rids  itself  of  refuse  —  having  a  marvellous  liv- 
ing pump  as  its  centre ;  the  epithelium  of  the  skin  and 
mucous  membranes  constitutes  a  vast  protective  system  of 
external  covering  and  internal  lining;  the  nervous  systems 
—  one  centring  in  the  brain  and  the  other  in  the  abdomen, 
and  both  radiating  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  body,  in 
complete  touch  with  every  living  cell  —  carry  instructions 
from  the  tiny  workers  to  the  great  centres  of  intellect,  which 
are  all  the  while  sending  forth  the  orders  of  the  mind  cen- 
tres to  these  untold  millions  of  microscopic  workers,  who 
are  thereby  enabled  to  carry  forward  their  vital  tasks  in 
cooperation  and  coordination,  with  unity  of  purpose  and 
action. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT 

PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY  OF  SUNLIGHT. —  SUNSHINE  THE  FOUN- 
TAIN OF  ENERGY. —  L'lGHT  A  GERM  DESTROYER. —  SUNLIGHT  AND 
VITAL  RESISTANCE. —  SUNSHINE  AND  THE  HOME. —  SUNLIGHT 
AND  CHILDREN. —  THE  VALUE  OF  SUN-BATHS. —  SUNSTROKE  AND, 
HEATSTROKE. —  SUN  ENERGY. —  RADIUM  AND  THORIUM. —  CHEM- 
ICAL ENERGY. 

LIGHT,  heat,  and  electricity  are  interchangeable  forms 
of  energy.  If  heat  vibrations  are  increased,  they  may 
become  light,  and  likewise  the  light  vibrations,  if  greatly 
increased,  may  be  manifested  as  electricity.  Light  travels 
through  space  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-six 
thousand  and  four  hundred  miles  a  second.  The  sun  is 
about  ninety-two  million  miles  from  the  earth,  yet  light  can 
travel  from  the  sun  to  our  earth  and  back  again  in  sixteen 
and  a  half  minutes.  It  would  require  sound  waves  twenty- 
nine  years  to  travel  this  distance. 

PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY  OF  SUNLIGHT 

The  rate  of  oscillation  of  light  rays  determines  the  mani- 
festation of  color.  Light  rays  are  visible  when  their  oscil- 
lations vary  from  477,000,000,000  per  second  —  red  light  — 
running  up  through  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  indigo,  and 
violet,  to  699,000,000,000  oscillations  per  second.  Oscilla- 
tions below  the  limit  of  vision  are  recognized  as  heat,  and 
those  above  constitute  the  ultra-violet  rays,  X-rays,  etc.,  the 
borderland  of  electricity. 

Sunlight  consists  of  three  rays: 

1.  Heat  rays. 

2.  Light  rays. 

3.  Chemical  or  actinic  rays. 

15 


1 6  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

It  is  the  action  of  the  actinic  rays  on  certain  silver  salts 
that  produces  the  negative  in  photography  or  the  sunburn  of 
the  skin,  resulting  from  long  exposure  to  the  sunlight. 

A  further  and  most  important  chemical  effect  of  light  is 
its  action  upon  chlorophyl,  the  green  coloring  substance  of 
plants  and  vegetables.  Under  the  influence  of  sunlight, 
chlorophyl  has  power  to  take  the  poisonous  carbonic  acid 
gas  (CO2)  of  the  air,  the  water  of  the  ground,  etc.,  and 
build  them  up  into  the  food  substances  of  starch,  sugar,  etc. 
During  this  process,  the  plant  gives  off  oxygen,  but  this  is 
true  only  while  the  sun  is  shining.  At  night  or  on  cloudy 
days,  plants  give  off  no  oxygen,  but  exhale  poisonous  car- 
bonic acid  gas  just  the  same  as  animals.  Plants  are  there- 
fore healthful  companions  in  the  living  room,  but  are  in- 
jurious at  night  in  the  sleeping  room. 

Light  is  analyzed  by  means  of  the  spectroscope,  which 
reduces  the  ray  of  light  to  its  simple  colors,  and  in  this  way 
astronomers  study  the  great  sun  flames  which  sometimes 
shoot  up  seventy  thousand  miles  high,  thereby  learning  of 
the  elements  present  in  these  solar  explosions. 

What  is  color f  When  all  the  primary  colors  of  light  are 
present  in  the  ray,  it  appears  white.  When  all  are  ab- 
sorbed by  the  surfacemen  which  it  falls,  the  surface  appears 
black.  When  only  part  of  the  colors  in  the  white  ray  of  light 
are  absorbed  by  the  reflecting  surface,  the  same  assumes  the 
color  of  the  unabsorbed  rays.  For  instance,  the  so-called 
red  barn  is  a  structure  whose  paint-pigment  absorbs  all 
the  colors  of  white  light  except  red.  The  reflection  of 
these  unabsorbed  red-colored  rays  back  to  the  eye,  produces 
the  sensations  of  redness  in  eye  and  brain,  and  so  we  call 
the  barn  red. 

SUNSHINE   THE   FOUNTAIN    OF   ENERGY 

Sunshine  is  the  source  of  all  earthly  energy.  Whether 
used  in  the  form  of  coal  from  the  buried  forests  of  the  long 
ago,  to  warm  our  houses;  or  as  the  fresh  and  growing  vege- 
table of  to-day,  to  nourish  our  bodies;  it  is  the  same  radiant 


THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT  17 

energy  that  we  are  utilizing  —  the  same  vitalizing  rays  of 
sunshine. 

The  green  plants  are  energy-gatherers  or  food-builders, 
for  man  and  the  animal  world.  The  animal  body  is 
an  energy-consumer.  Animals  are  dependent  upon  food 
for  their  heat  and  energy;  therefore,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, man,  in  common  with  all  animals,  is  dependent 
upon  the  vegetable  kingdom  to  furnish  him  the  necessary 
food  from  which  he  may  derive  the  heat  and  energy  requi- 
site to  the  maintenance  of  life  and  health. 

As  previously  noted,  it  is  the  green  part  of  the  plant, 
called  chlorophyl,  which  under  the  influence  of  the  sunlight 
is  able  to  organize  the  dead  minerals  of  earth  and  the  life- 
less gases  of  the  air  into  such  wonderfully  complex  foods 
as  starch,  sugar,  cellulose,  etc.,  foods  that  are  perfectly  suited 
to  the  use  of  man  and  the  animal  world  for  purposes  of 
heat  and  energy. 

LIGHT   A   GERM   DESTROYER 

While  sunshine  is  indispensable  to  the  life  and  health  of 
the  human  race  and  other  higher  forms  of  life,  it  is  im- 
portant to  know  that  this  same  wonderful  and  beneficent 
sunlight  is  almost  instantaneously  fatal  to  the  vast  majority 
of  disease  germs,  and  microorganisms  which  prey  upon 
man  and,  in  a  thousand  and  one  ways,  constantly  jeopardize 
his  health  and  happiness.  The  same  ray  of  sunlight  which 
carries  health  and  physical  salvation  to  the  waning  consump- 
tive, is  immediately  fatal  to  the  life  of  his  great  enemy  — 
the  tiny  tubercular  bacillus  —  the  cause  of  the  great  "white 
plague." 

Since  we  know  that  about  one-quarter  of  the  population  of 
civilized  countries  is  afflicted  with  some  form  of  tuberculosis, 
how  urgent  it  is  that  human  dwelling  places,  sleeping  rooms, 
living  rooms,  working  rooms,  etc.,  in  fact,  all  that  pertains 
to  the  life  of  man,  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  free 
access  to  the  glorious  sunshine !  How  important  that  intelli- 
gent human  beings  should  utilize  this  wonderful  agency  of 


1 8  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Nature,  coming  as  it  does  with  its  twofold  benefaction  —  pro- 
moting the  health  of  the  man  and  destroying  the  life  of  his 
most  malignant  foe  —  the  germ  of  consumption  ! 

It  is  this  disinfecting  and  germ-destroying  power  of  sun- 
shine that  has  probably  saved  us  from  a  universal  scourge 
of  tuberculosis  that  would  otherwise  have  resulted  from 
the  careless  spitting  of  consumptives  in  public  places.  While 
thousands  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children,  no  doubt 
contract  tuberculosis  as  the  result  of  such  carelessness, 
many  thousands  of  others  are  undoubtedly  saved  by  the 
efficient  and  constant  action  of  sunlight  in  destroying  un- 
told billions  of  these  tubercular  microbes. 

SUNLIGHT    AND   VITAL    RESISTANCE 

The  foremost  of  modern  scientists  agree  perfectly  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Old  Book,  which  declares  that  man  was 
made  to  live  in  a  garden.  Modern  biologists  are  coming 
to  look  upon  man  as  an  out-door  animal.  Physicians  are 
becoming  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  maintenance 
of  health  and  the  recovery  from  disease  are  mightily  in- 
fluenced by  the  number  of  hours  an  individual  spends  each 
day  in  the  sunshine  of  the  open  air.  All  students  of  hy- 
giene recognize  that  the  more  mankind  live  out  of  doors,  the 
better  the  health,  the  fewer  the  diseases  from  which  they 
suffer,  and  the  more  quickly  they  recover  from  most  bodily 
afflictions. 

Carefully  compiled  statistics  show  that  the  vital  resistance 
of  any  family  or  group  of  families  is  in  an  exact  inverse 
ratio  to  the  number  of  years  they  have  been  away  from  the 
soil;  that  is,  the  longer  you  have  been  away  from  the  farm 
—  from  the  outdoor  life  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine  —  the 
more  likely  you  are  to  contract  disease,  and  the  more  diffi- 
cult will  be  your  recovery.  On  the  other  hand,  the  shorter 
the  time  you  have  been  away  from  the  farm  —  the  outdoor 
life  —  the  more  vital  resistance  you  have,  the  less  likely  you 
are  to  contract  disease,  and  the  more  quickly  and  surely 
you  will  recover  from  any  accidental  infection  or  other 
malady. 


THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT  19 

SUNSHINE   AND   THE    HOME 

In  the  development  of  the  modern  house,  with  all  its  con- 
veniences and  splendid  sanitary  arrangements,  altogether 
too  little  provision  has  been  made  for  the  admission  of  an 
adequate  amount  of  sunlight. 

The  march  of  science  has  delivered  us  from  the  innu- 
merable itches  and  skin  diseases  which  were  the  scourge 
of  the  Middle  Ages;  the  advent  of  the  iron  bedstead  has 
doomed  the  bedbug;  modern  sanitary  plumbing  has  delivered 
us  from  sewer  gas  and  other  kitchen  filth;  but  the  scien- 
tific conquest  of  foul  air  and  darkness  —  the  problems  of 
satisfactory  illumination  and  proper  ventilation  —  remain 
for  this  or  another  generation  to  solve. 

The  site  of  a  human  dwelling-place  should  be  upon  ele- 
vated ground  with  good  natural  or  artificial  drainage.  It 
is  imperative  that  the  southern  exposure  should  be  unob- 
structed and  that  all  living  and  bed  rooms  should  be  located 
on  this  side  of  the  house,  that  they  may  be  constantly 
flooded  with  the  glorious  sunlight. 

The  growing  fashion  of  bay  windows  should  be  encour- 
aged. The  more  the  glass  that  enters  into  the  construction 
of  a  dwelling-house,  the  better  will  be  the  health  of  its  occu- 
pants, and  the  worse  it  will  be  for  any  disease  germ  that 
may  chance  to  lurk  therein.  The  glass  house  is  not  art 
improbable  innovation  of  the  future.  A  dwelling  so  con- 
structed could,  by  shifting  blinds  and  rugs,  be  daily  disin- 
fected and  sterilized  from  the  attic  to  the  cellar,  by  flush- 
ing every  square  foot  of  space  with  the  cleansing  light  of 
the  sun. 

The  practice  of  massing  houses  together  side  by  side  in 
our  cities  and  villages,  and  of  constructing  flats,  many  of 
which  admit  sunlight  to  but  a  single  room,  is  indeed  per- 
nicious. One  of  the  sanitary  laws  needed  most  at  the 
present  time  is  one  compelling  suitable  space  to  be  al- 
lowed on  the  southern  exposure  of  every  human  dwelling- 
place  to  permit  of  proper  illumination  and  daily  solar  ster- 
ilization. 


20  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

What  a  pity  that  the  foundation  of  the  house  —  the  en- 
closure of  the  cellar,  that  dark  and  prolific  breeding  ground 
for  the  microbes  of  disease  —  should  be  so  universally  built 
without  provision  for  ventilation  or  the  admission  of  sun- 
light !  By  attention  to  this  matter,  damp  walls,  which  breed 
mould  and  microbes,  would  cease  to  exist. 

Let  us  hope  that  at  some  future  day  only  a  licensed  ar- 
chitect will  be  permitted  to  draw  the  plans  for  our  dwellings, 
and  that,  to  secure  such  a  license,  he  must  demonstrate 
that  he  is  thoroughly  trained  and  competent  in  all  these  mat- 
ters of  house-hygiene,  which  so  vitally  concern  the  life  and 
health  of  the  race. 

SUNLIGHT   AND    CHILDREN 

Who  would  think  of  trying  to  raise  a  plant  without  an 
abundance  of  sunlight?  Yet  how  many  fond  but  ignorant 
parents  are  endeavoring  to  rear  their  little  ones  with  but  a 
tithe  of  the  sunshine  which  their  health  demands !  What 
if  the  sunlight  does  fade  your  carpets,  your  tapestries,  and 
other  precious  fabrics?  Would  it  not  be  better  to  have 
these  lose  some  of  their  color,  than  to  continue  to  see  the 
once  rosy  cheeks  of  your  darling  babes  fade  increasingly? 
It  is  true  the  sunlight  may  dissipate  the  artificial  colors  of 
the  still  more  artificial  hangings  of  your  living  rooms,  but 
what  matter,  so  long  as  it  restores  the  natural  color  —  the 
bloom  of  health  —  to  the  pallid  cheeks  of  the  little  ones? 
It  is  a  crime  against  the  rising  generation  to  locate  the  nur- 
sery anywhere  except  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  house. 

THE   VALUE    OF    SUN-BATHS 

This  form  of  bath  is  taken  by  exposing  the  body  to  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  while  the  head  and  back  of  the  neck  are 
protected  by  cloths  wrung  out  of  cold  water  or  ice  water. 
It  is  found  to  be  very  helpful  in  tuberculosis,  anaemia,  many 
forms  of  dyspepsia,  and  other  chronic  disorders.  It  should 
be  begun  gradually,  exposing  the  body  or  a  part  of  the  body 
for  only  a  few  moments,  and  increasing  the  time  little  by 


THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT  21 

little,  from  day  to  day,  until  the  body  may  be  exposed  for 
ten  or  twenty  minutes. 

SUNSTROKE   AND   HEATSTROKE 

It  might  be  well  in  this  connection  to  warn  the  reader 
against  unduly  exposing  himself,  particularly  the  head,  to 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  during  periods  of  extreme  heat, 
as  there  is  considerable  danger  of  sunstroke,  especially  if 
he  is  not  accustomed  to  high  temperatures.  However,  the 
majority  of  sunstrokes  are  due  to  something  else  besides 
the  heat.  Old  age,  alcohol,  the  excessive  use  of  narcotics, 
such  as  tobacco,  a  heavy  meat  diet  during  the  summer,  to- 
gether with  mental  worry  or  despondency,  contribute  largely 
to  the  mortality  from  sunstroke  during  periods  of  prolonged 
hot  weather. 

Sunstroke  must  not  be  confused  with  heat  exhaustion. 
In  sunstroke  the  head  is  hot  and  the  face  flushed.  All  cloth- 
ing possible  should  be  immediately  removed.  Allow  abun- 
dance of  fresh  air.  Apply  cold  cloths  to  the  head.  The 
body  should  be  briskly  rubbed  with  the  end  of  a  towel  wrung 
out  of  cold  water,  or  sprinkled  with  cold  water,  or  put  in  a 
cold  bath.  Heat  should  be  applied  to  the  feet,  and  the  pa- 
tient allowed  to  rest. 

Heat  exhaustion  occurs  more  largely  among  those  work- 
ing in  high  temperatures  indoors,  as  in  rolling  mills,  iron 
foundries,  etc.  These  sufferers  should  be  given  rest  and 
fresh  air.  The  skin  of  the  body,  and  even  the  face,  in  such 
cases,  is  more  likely  to  be  found  pale,  or  sometimes  cool  and 
clammy.  A  hot  bath  should  be  given,  or  a  short  hot  blanket 
pack  with  cold  to  the  head,  followed  by  a  gentle  rubbing  of 
the  body. 

SUN   ENERGY 

The  infinite  liberality  characterizing  the  sun,  as  it  lav- 
ishes energy  and  pours  forth  heat  upon  the  earth,  is  amaz- 
ing. The  writer  has  seen  solar  heaters  in  southern  Califor- 
nia, which  were  so  constructed  as  to  furnish  all  the  hot 
water  required  for  domestic  purposes.  The  energy  exerted 


22  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

by  the  sunlight  in  evaporating  and  elevating  an  average 
rainfall  on  one  square  mile  of  ground,  has  been  estimated 
at  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  horse-power. 

It  is  indeed  marvellous  the  amount  of  energy  which  the 
plant  world  is  able  to  store  from  the  sunlight  falling  upon 
its  green  leaves.  A  single  stalk  of  Indian  corn  is  estimated 
to  sweat  as  much  as  a  human  being,  and  that  is  equivalent  to 
the  giving  off  of  about  two  ounces  of  water  an  hour.  From 
this  it  has  been  computed  that  an  acre  of  corn,  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  actually  sweats  sixty-two  and  a  half  barrels  of 
water. 

One  botanist  estimates  that  a  blade  of  corn  in  pushing 
its  way  up  through  the  heavy  clods  to  the  fresh  air  and 
sunlight,  frequently  lifts  a  prodigious  weight  one  hundred 
thousand  times  its  own.  After  escaping  from  its  dark, 
earthy  prison,  the  tender  little  corn  blade  can  scarcely  bear 
up  a  weight  only  a  few  times  its  own.  A  single  tiny  root, 
in  forcing  its  way  through  the  earth,  exerts  a  power  equal 
to  three  hundred  pounds  pressure  to  the  square  inch.  A 
single  poplar  tree  exhales  a  barrel  of  water  every  day.  A 
single  pound  of  Indian  corn  contains  sixteen  hundred  cal- 
ories, or  units  of  energy  —  enough  to  lift  five  million  pounds 
one  foot  high,  or  one-half  a  ton  one  mile  high. 

The  writer  knew  of  a  tender  mushroom  plant  which 
pushed  its  way  up  through  several  inches  of  concrete  in 
the  floor  of  a  California  warehouse.  And  so  we  constantly 
behold  a  panorama  of  infinite  energy,  whether  we  look  at 
the  smallest  of  the  operations  of  Nature  or  gaze  in  wonder 
at  the  great  astronomical  system  as  it  moves  on  majestically 
in  its  ceaseless  march  through  space. 

RADIUM    AND   THORIUM 

The  latest  discovery  of  science,  illustrative  of  the  wonder- 
power  of  the  natural  world,  is  to  be  found  in  the  new  chem- 
ical substances,  radium  and  thorium.  Radium  is  the  chem- 
ical wizard  of  the  hour,  baffling  the  skill  of  the  chemist, 
overthrowing  the  laws  of  the  physicist,  apparently  defying 
even  the  time-honored  laws  of  the  conservation  of  energy. 


THE  VITALIZING  SUNLIGHT  23 

This  remarkable  substance,  itself  apparently  dead  and  cold, 
gives  off  both  heat  and  light.  It  discharges  small  particles 
of  matter  which  fly  off  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  thousand 
miles  a  second,  and  yet  Professor  Becquerel  has  estimated 
that  a  room,  having  a  ceiling  twenty  feet  square,  covered 
with  radium  for  illuminating  purposes,  would  lose,  by  this 
discharge  of  light  and  energy,  only  2/100  of  a  grain  of  ra- 
dium in  one  thousand  years. 

Thorium  is  a  mysterious  substance  throwing  off  heat. 
Certain  specimens  exhibit  the  wonderful  property  of  giving 
off  heat  for  a  certain  number  of  hours,  and  when  the  heat 
is  decreasing,  if  it  is  exposed  to  the  sunlight,  it  will  again 
give  off  heat. 

The  X-ray  is  still  a  wonder  to  both  scientist  and  layman. 
It  is  not  only  a  great  help  in  treating  many  diseases  and  an 
indispensable  aid  in  surgical  diagnosis,  but  also  a  very  pow- 
erful agent  of  destruction  when  carelessly  or  ignorantly 
used. 

Recent  experiments  in  an  Eastern  university  have  demon- 
strated that  the  human  body  is  constantly  giving  off  rays 
of  light  which  will  affect  specially  prepared  photographic 
plates,  so  that  a  picture  of  the  body  has  been  taken  in  a  per- 
fectly dark  chamber,  by  the  light  of  the  body  itself. 

CHEMICAL   ENERGY 

Unlimited  energy,  infinite  power,  is  constantly  in  oper- 
ation in  our  world.  The  world  itself,  weighing  fifteen  hun- 
dred billions  of  billions  of  tons,  maintains  its  flight  through 
space  at  nineteen  miles  a  second.  To  impart  such  extraor- 
dinary velocity  to  a  ten-pound  cannon  ball  would  require 
the  explosion  of  eight  hundred  times  its  weight  in  powder 
—  about  four  tons.  To  start  the  earth  moving  at  its  pres- 
ent rate  of  speed  would  require  the  explosion  of  six  hun- 
dred billions  of  billions  of  tons  of  gunpowder  (600,000,000,- 
000,000,000,000),  to  say  nothing  of  the  constant  expenditure 
of  energy  required  to  maintain  our  planet  in  its  endless 
flight  through  space,  never  losing  a  fraction  of  a  second. 

Professor  Tyndall  has  computed  that  an  ordinary  snow- 


24  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ball,  weighing  half  a  pound,  contains  sufficient  energy  —  in 
the  form  of  such  latent  heat  as  would  be  liberated  in  the 
melting  of  the  snowball  and  the  conversion  of  its  water  into 
steam  —  to  project  its  own  weight  through  space  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  about  as  far  as  from 
Chicago  to  St.  Louis.  He  further  estimates  that  the  amount 
of  chemical  energy  required  to  hold  the  atoms  of  hydrogen 
and  oxygen  together  in  this  snowball,  represents  sufficient 
power  to  hurl  its  weight  of  half  a  pound  half  way  across 
the  American  continent.  Water  expands  just  before  freez- 
ing, and  if  a  strong  iron  pipe  be  filled  with  water,  the  ends 
closed,  and  the  water  allowed  to  freeze,  it  will  be  rent 
asunder. 


CHAPTER   IV 

NATURAL  BREATHING,  OR  THE  VITALIZED  LIFE 

ANATOMY  OF  THE  RESPIRATORY  APPARATUS. —  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP 
BREATHING. —  THE  HUMAN  VOICE. —  PURE  AIR  NATURE'S  TONIC. 
— BLOOD  PURIFIERS. —  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  DEEP  BREATHING. —  CELL 
RESPIRATION. —  BREATHING  AND  DIGESTION. —  DEEP  BREATHING 
AND  THE  BLUES. —  NlGHT  AIR. 

THE  nose  is  the  external  organ  of  respiration.  Air  en- 
tering the  nostril  must  pass  through  a  strainer  com- 
posed of  projecting  hairs,  and  then  over  the  three  turbinate 
bones,  all  of  which  lodge  particles  of  atmospheric  dust. 
The  mucous  membrane  covering  these  turbinate  bones  and 
lining  the  nasal  cavity  is  richly  supplied  with  blood-vessels, 
by  which  means  the  cold  air  is  warmed. 

ANATOMY  OF  THE  RESPIRATORY  APPARATUS 

Back  of  the  nose  the  air  enters  the  pharynx,  where  it  is 
further  warmed,  and  by  suction  it  is  directed  downward, 
passing  through  the  larynx  or  voice-box,  over  the  relaxed 
vocal  cords,  into  the  trachea  or  windpipe.  This  part  of  the 
breathing  tract  is  lined  with  epithelium,  which  is  provided 
with  cilia  whose  rhythmic,  waving  motion  constantly  sweeps 
upward  and  outward,  thus  protecting  the  lungs  from  the 
dust  and  dirt  which  may  enter  the  windpipe  along  with  the 
air. 

The  windpipe  subdivides  into  numerous  branches,  some 
going  to  the  right  lung,  others  to  the  left,  where  they  are 
further  divided  into  the  bronchi  or  breathing  tubes.  (See 
Fig.  5.)  The  pulmonary  artery  carries  the  impure  blood 
from  the  right  side  of  the  heart  to  the  lungs  to  be  purified; 
the  pulmonary  vein  brings  back  the  aerated  blood  to  the 
left  side  of  the  heart,  to  be  pumped  all  over  the  body.  The 


26  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

lung  substance  itself  is  nourished  by  a  system  of  bronchial 
arteries  coming  from  the  general  circulation. 

The  bronchi  of  the  lungs  continue  to  divide  into  branches 
after  the  manner  of  a  tree,  until  each  little  branch  termi- 
nates in  an  air  sac.  These  air  chambers  are  very  thin,  as 
also  are  the  surrounding  blood-vessels,  so  that  the  exchange 
of  the  CO2  of  the  blood  with  the  oxygen  in  the  ail  sacs, 
readily  takes  place  in  the  bodies  of  the  red  blood  corpuscles. 
(See  Fig.  5.) 

There  are  certain  muscles  of  the  chest  and  those  be- 
tween the  ribs,  which  assist  in  breathing,  especially  in 
forced  or  labored  breathing,  but  the  real  muscles  of  res- 
piration are  those  of  the  abdomen  —  more  particularly  the 
diaphragm,  which  is  the  muscle  serving  as  a  partition  be- 
tween the  chest  and  the  abdomen.  It  is  the  downward 
movement  of  the  diaphragm,  accompanied  by  an  outward 
movement  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  which  produces  the 
lowered  air  pressure  or  partial  vacuum  in  the  lungs,  causing 
an  inrush  of  air  through  the  nostrils.  When  the  abdomi- 
nal muscles  contract  and  the  diaphragm  moves  up,  then  the 
lungs  are  emptied. 

THE    PHYSIOLOGY    OF    BREATHING 

The  process  of  respiration  is  divided  into  two  stages : 

1.  External    respiration  —  the    interchange    of    gases    be- 
tween the  air  in  the  lungs  and  the  blood  circulating  through 
the  lungs. 

2.  Internal     breathing    or     cell     respiration  —  the     inter- 
change of  gases  between  the  individual  cells  of  the  body 
and  the  blood  corpuscles  circulating  about  them. 

The  lungs  are  inclosed  in  an  air-tight  box  —  the  thorax. 
The  same  pleura  which  covers  the  outside  of  the  lungs  is 
reflected  over  on  either  side  and  entirely  covers  the  inside 
of  the  chest.  It  is  the  inflammation  of  this  pleura  which 
produces  the  condition  commonly  known  as  "  pleurisy." 

When  the  lungs  are  pressed  upon  from  below  by  the 
diaphragm,  the  pressure  in  the  lung  is  greater  than  that 


.BRONCHUS 


FIG.  5."    The  Lungs  and   Terminal  Bronchiole 


NATURAL  BREATHING  2? 

of  the  atmosphere,  and  so  the  air  moves  out.  Likewise, 
when  the  diaphragm  moves  down,  air  pressure  in  the  lung 
is  less  than  that  of  the  air  outside,  so  the  air  rushes  in. 
This  constitutes  breathing,  or  the  ventilation  of  the  lungs, 
and  is  accomplished  by  the  same  physical  principles  that 
are  used  in  the  ventilation  of  a  dwelling.  Respiration  is 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  nervous  system. 

In  natural  breathing,  the  chest  and  abdomen  should  ex- 
pand in  all  their  diameters.  Exclusive  chest  breathing  or 
exclusive  abdominal  breathing  is  wrong;  both  the  chest 
and  the  abdomen  should  work  together.  (See  Fig.  6.) 

Men,  as  a  rule,  breathe  after  the  abdominal  type.  Civil- 
ized women,  owing  to  their  mode  of  dress,  employ  chest 
breathing.  (See  Fig.  6.)  This  is  entirely  due  to  their 
constricted  waists,  for  uncivilized  women  employ  the  ab- 
dominal or  natural  method  of  breathing  just  the  same  as 
men.  Even  in  civilized  countries,  little  girls  breathe  the 
same  as  their  small  brothers. 

The  normal  rate  of  breathing  for  an  adult  is  fifteen  to 
twenty  times  a  minute.  In  the  new-born  child,  it  is  fifty 
to  seventy.  The  breathing  rate  is  a  little  higher  in  women 
than  in  men. 

In  ordinary  breathing  we  take  in  about  five  hundred  cubic 
centimetres  of  air  at  a  time;  that  is,  about  twenty-five 
pounds  in  twenty-four  hours.  By  taking  a  very  deep  breath, 
about  two  thousand  cubic  centimetres  more  air  can  be 
forced  into  the  lungs.  When  we  do  our  best  to  empty  the 
lungs,  there  still  remains  about  seven  hundred  cubic  centi- 
metres of  air  in  them. 

Breathing  is  modified  by  disease  —  increased  in  fever 
and  in  inflammatory  diseases  of  the  lungs.  Coughing  is 
an  abrupt  expiration  with  the  mouth  open.  Sneezing  is  a 
violent  expiration,  the  air  passing  out  chiefly  through  the 
nose.  Yawning  is  a  prolonged  inspiration  indicative  of 
mental  or  physical  weariness.  A  sigh  is  a  long-drawn  in- 
spiration, followed  by  deep  expiration;  while  the  hiccough  is 
due  to  a  sudden  spasm  of  the  diaphragm,  producing  a  quick 
inspiration. 


28  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

In  testing  the  lungs,  there  are  two  important  things  to 
ascertain : 

1.  The  capacity. 

2.  The  strength. 

The  capacity  of  the  lungs  is  tested  by  means  of  the 
spirometer,  and  naturally  varies  according  to  the  size  and 
height  of  the  individual.  Average  lung  capacities  in  ref- 
erence to  height  are  about  as  follows: 


Height 
5  Ft. 

Lung  Capacity 
180  Cu.  In. 

5    "     2  In  

.  185    "     " 

5    "     4   "      

.    IOO      "       " 

5    "     6   "      

.  105   "    " 

5    "     8  "      

.    205      "       " 

5    "    10  "      

.    215      "       " 

6    " 

.    2;tt>     "       " 

The  strength  of  the  lungs  is  measured  by  blowing  through 
a  tube  against  a  column  of  mercury,  and  the  average  man 
or  woman  is  found  to  possess  a  strength  varying  from  one 
to  two  pounds  of  mercury. 

THE    HUMAN   VOICE 

The  voice-box  is  the  larynx ;  stretched  across  it,  under 
the  control  of  various  muscles,  are  the  true  and  false  chords. 
Sound  is  produced  by  air  which,  in  passing  over  these 
chords,  sets  them  in  vibration.  The  pitch  is  determined  by 
the  tension  of  the  chords  and  is  also  influenced  by  the 
strength  of  the  air  blast.  Speech  is  simply  the  articulated 
voice,  produced  largely  by  the  varied  positions  of  the  lips. 
A  whisper  is  really  speech  without  voice. 

PURE  AIR  NATURE'S  TONIC 

The  real  value  of  the  outdoor  life  is  largely  dependent 
upon  the  character  of  the  breathing  while  one  is  in  the 
open  air.  It  will  be  just  as  useless  to  go  out  of  doors  in 
the  fresh,  pure  air  without  indulging  in  full,  deep  breath- 
ing, as  it  will  to  go  into  the  pantry  when  hungry  and  re- 


V  J 


Chest  Breathing 
(WRONG; 


Breathincj 

(RIGHT) 


Fl  G .  6 .  -   7  llusfrat'/'ncj  Right  and  Wrong  Breathing . 


NATURAL  BREATHING  29 

fuse  to  eat.  The  value  of  the  outdoor  life  is  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  the  proper  exercise  of  the  lungs  in  natural 
respiration. 

One  of  my  patients  looked  at  me  in  great  astonishment 
when,  after  she  had  asked  for  a  tonic,  I  directed  her  to  go 
out  into  the  open  air  five  times  a  day  and  fill  her  lungs  to 
their  fullest  capacity  one  hundred  times,  while  rising  upon 
her  toes  and  lifting  the  arms  sidewise  with  each  inspiration, 
settling  back  on  the  heels  and  letting  the  arms  fall  with 
each  expiration.  (See  Fig.  7.)  This  patient  was  told 
that  oxygen  was  the  divine  tonic-  and  that  the  proper  way 
to  take  such  medicine  was  to  systematically  practise  deep 
breathing.  Nature  has  prescribed  two  lungs  full  of  good 
fresh  air  every  three  seconds.  If  this  wise  prescription  is 
not  properly  taken  moment  by  moment,  the  only  way  such 
negligence  can  be  atoned  for  is  to  go  out  into  the  open  air 
several  times  a  day  and  make  it  a  special  business  to  ven- 
tilate the  lungs  thoroughly  by  engaging  in  deep-breathing 
exercises  for  several  minutes. 

BLOOD    PURIFIERS 

The  lungs  are  Nature's  blood  purifiers.  It  is  a  mistaken 
notion  that  some  medicine  can  be  taken  into  the  stomach 
at  springtime  which  will  purify  the  blood.  These  so-called 
"  spring  tonics  "  or  "  blood  purifiers  "  are  a  snare  and  a  de- 
lusion. They  consist  largely  of  alcohol  and  other  stimu- 
lating drugs  which  cause  those  who  take  them  to  feel  bet- 
ter for  the  time  being,  but  in  reality  leave  them  worse  off 
than  they  were  before  taking  the  medicine.  One  of  the 
curses  of  our  present-day  civilization  is  the  willingness 
with  which  intelligent  people  will  swallow  bottle  after 
bottle  of  pernicious  secret  nostrums. 

We  purify  the  blood  by  eating  pure  food  and  drinking 
pure  water.  The  solid  and  liquid  impurities  of  the  blood 
are  acted  upon  by  the  liver  and  expelled  by  the  skin  and 
kidneys,  while  the  gaseous  poisons  of  the  blood-stream  are 
removed  from  the  body  through  the  lungs.  Daily  sweating 
also  tends  to  keep  the  blood  pure.  Full,  deep  breathing  has 


30  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

restored  to  health  and  activity  many  a  semi-invalid  who 
supposed  himself  to  be  suffering  from  thick  and  impure 
blood  and  a  host  of  other  ills. 

As  will  be  shown  later,  the  diaphragmatic  method  of 
breathing  is  the  natural  one.  Some  vocal  teachers  instruct 
their  pupils  to  breathe  with  the  abdominal  muscles ;  others 
teach  intercostal  breathing.  The  proper  and  physiological 
method  employs  both,  the  point  of  greatest  expansion  cor- 
responding with  the  diaphragm.  By  this  method  the  lungs 
are  more  fully  ventilated,  the  air  is  more  completely 
changed,  the  chest  is  developed,  the  abdominal  muscles 
strengthened,  and  the  health  and  strength  of  all  the  internal 
organs  promoted. 

THE   BLESSINGS   OF   DEEP   BREATHING 

Shallow  breathers  are  usually  downcast  and  despondent. 
I  have  yet  to  find  a  man  or  woman  who  is  a  systematic 
deep  breather,  suffering  much  from  melancholia  or  de- 
spondency. On  the  other  hand,  I  have  observed  that  prac- 
tically all  despondent,  downcast,  and  discouraged  people 
are  shallow  breathers.  The  less  deeply  you  breathe,  the 
more  you  will  worry.  The  more  deeply  you  breathe,  the 
less  you  will  worry.  Shallow  breathing  favors  the  ac- 
cumulation of  poisonous  gases  in  the  blood  and  the  stag- 
nation of  blood  in  the  internal  organs.  These  poisonous 
substances  accumulating  in  the  blood-stream  becloud  the 
mind,  producing  a  state  of  mental  and  physical  health  which 
greatly  increases  the  moral  struggle.  That  is,  impure  air 
or  insufficient  breathing  makes  it  much  harder  for  one  to 
live  a  happy,  tranquil,  and  even-tempered  life. 

The  brain  action  is  very  greatly  heightened  by  deep 
breathing.  Deep  breathers  are  more  likely  to  be  deep  think- 
ers, while  shallow  breathers  are  condemned  to  inevitable 
shallow  thinking.  The  action  of  the  lungs  has  much  to  do 
with  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  especially  in  the  head 
and  abdomen.  To  convince  yourself  that  this  is  a  fact,  try 
the  following  experiment;  When  you  are  all  tired  out, 
dull  and  sleepy  and  unable  to  read,  put  down  your  book  for 


Starling  Position 


Breathing    In 


Breathing  In 


mj}  Out 


FIG.  7.-   Method  of  iahinj  special  breath  mj  Exercises 


NATURAL  BREATHING  31 

a  moment,  stand  up  before  an  open  window  and  slowly  fill 
the  lungs  to  their  fullest  capacity  twenty-five  times.  On 
again  taking  up  your  book  to  read,  you  will  discover  a  new 
lease  of  mental  energy  —  the  powers  of  attention  have  been 
awakened. 

Deep  breathing  facilitates  the  purification  of  the  blood  as 
it  circulates  through  the  lungs.  It  also  quickens  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood  throughout  the  body.  Many  cases  of 
chronic  cold  hands  and  feet  are  greatly  helped  by  syste- 
matic, deep  breathing. 

Some  one  has  called  the  blood  the  "  vital  water  that  turns 
the  wheels  of  life."  The  blood  should  contain  by  weight 
more  of  oxygen  than  it  does  of  digested  food,  as  the  food  is 
useless  for  heat  and  energy,  unless  this  wonderful  gas  is 
present  to  oxidize  it. 

CELL   RESPIRATION 

The  human  body  is  made  up  of  countless  millions  of  lit- 
tle cells,  each  an  individual,  carrying  on  some  special  work. 
In  order  to  do  their  work  properly,  these  little  cell-beings 
must  eat  and  drink  and  breathe.  If  we  neglect  to  take 
food  and  water  into  the  stomach,  these  tiny  workers  would 
be  starved  and  famished.  Likewise,  if  we  fail  to  breathe 
properly,  as  most  of  us  habitually  do,  these  little  cells  of 
the  body  are  in  turn  partially  or  wholly  suffocated  —  lit- 
erally smothered.  It  is  just  this  condition  of  some  or  all 
of  the  cells  of  the  body  which  is  responsible  for  much  of 
the  run-down,  debilitated,  waking-up-tired-in-the-morning 
feeling,  from  which  so  many  shallow  breathers  habitually 
suffer.  Fresh  air  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  welfare 
and  the  work  of  every  little  cell-citizen  belonging  to  the 
commonwealth  of  the  living  body. 

Oxygen  is  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  life  of  the  cells 
of  the  body.  We  are  able  to  go  for  days  without  eating  and 
drinking,  but  we  can  go  but  a  few  moments  without  breath- 
ing. In  fact,  it  is  necessary  for  each  of  us  to  take  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty  "  air  lunches  "  a  minute  in  order  to  keep  the 
body  properly  fed  with  oxygen  —  that  great  liberator  of  the 


32  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

energy  contained  within  our  food  —  the  great  energizer  of 
every  living  cell  and  quivering  tissue. 

BREATHING   AND   DIGESTION 

Deep  breathing  aids  digestion,  promotes  the  action  of  the 
liver,  and  helps  the  stomach  in  emptying  itself.  Patients 
with  weak,  debilitated  stomachs  are  greatly  helped  by  deep- 
breathing  exercises.  Many  cases  of  "  heavy  feeling "  in 
the  stomach  following  meals  can  be  relieved  within  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes  by  deep,  diaphragmatic  breathing  in  the 
open  air.  Both  the  stomach  and  the  liver  lie  directly  under 
the  diaphragm,  and  are  greatly  aided  in  their  action  by 
deep,  full  respiration. 

Natural  diaphragmatic  breathing  is  also  a  great  aid  to 
normal  action  of  the  bowels.  It  is  a  wonderful  preventive 
of  constipation  and,  in  a  measure,  a  cure  for  this  obstinate 
malady.  It  is  estimated  that  the  diaphragm  exerts  a  pres- 
sure of  about  two  hundred  pounds  in  normal  deep  breath- 
ing. In  the  case  of  one  who  breathes  correctly,  this  pres- 
sure is  being  exerted  upon  the  internal  organs  every  few 
seconds  day  and  night.  It  is  natural  that  the  bowels  should 
have  this  pressure  exerted  upon  them,  and  its  absence  largely 
contributes  to  intestinal  sluggishness  or  constipation,  from 
which  shallow  breathers  almost  universally  suffer. 

DEEP  BREATHING  AND  THE  BLUES 

Deep  breathing  stimulates  the  circulation  of  the  blood  in 
the  portal  vessels  of  the  abdominal  cavity.  The  liver  is 
the  filter  of  the  body,  and  the  blood-vessels  connected  with 
it  constitute  the  special  filter  system  of  the  circulation, 
which  gathers  up  the  blood  from  the  various  digestive  or- 
gans, including  the  bowels,  carrying  it  to  the  liver  for  in- 
spection and  filtration  before  it  is  emptied  into  the  general 
circulation.  All  women  with  flabby  abdominal  muscles,  and 
most  men  of  sedentary  habits,  suffer  from  portal  conges- 
tion. This  portal  congestion  is  so  severe  in  many  cases 
and  the  blood  is  so  stagnant  and  poisonous,  that  the  white 


NATURAL  BREATHING  33 

blood  cells,  whose  great  work  is  to  devour  the  disease  germs 
which  invade  the  body,  become  so  intoxicated  and  poisoned 
by  this  stagnant  blood  that  they  turn  traitor  and  devour 
their  cousins  —  the  red  blood  cells  —  in  enormous  quanti- 
ties. In  this  way  many  forms  of  mild  anaemia  and  other 
conditions  of  debility  and  malnutrition  are  probably  pro- 
duced. 

This  health-destroying  portal  congestion,  together  with 
various  forms  of  headache,  constipation,  backache,  and 
many  other  unpleasant  symptoms,  may  be  greatly  helped  or 
entirely  removed  by  habitual,  deep  diaphragmatic  breath- 
ing, which  constantly  flushes  the  portal  circulation,  pre- 
venting stagnation  of  blood  therein.  Dr.  Abrams  has  long 
since  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  physical  and 
mental  condition  known  as  the  "  blues "  owes  its  origin 
largely  to  portal  congestion  and  the  subsequent  derange- 
ment of  the  abdominal  brain  and  the  sympathetic  nervous 
system. 

The  flat  chest  indicates  not  only  improper  breathing,  but 
a  predisposition  to  lung  diseases  as  well,  and  advertises  the 
fact  to  the  world  that  its  owner  has  a  body  half  nourished, 
half  suffocated,  and  therefore  prepared  to  do  only  one-half 
a  man's  work  and  bear  only  half  a  man's  responsibility  in 
the  world.  Many  forms  of  spinal  curvature  also  result 
from  deficient  breathing  and  subsequent  weakening  of  all 
the  muscles  connected  with  respiration  and  involved  in  the 
support  of  the  spinal  column. 

NIGHT   AIR 

Don't  be  afraid  of  the  night  air.  Night  air  differs  from 
day  air  only  in  that  it  is  usually  cooler  and  one  therefore 
needs  to  provide  more  clothing  for  the  body  after  sunset. 
Night  air  is  just  as  wholesome  as  day  air,  and  in  some  re- 
spects it  is  even  more  pure.  There  are  no  such  things  as 
"  miasmas "  or  other  poisonous  substances  which  pervade 
the  air  at  night.  This  is  a  superstition  of  the  last  century 
long  since  disproved  by  science.  Malaria  is  not  caught 
from  a  "miasma,"  but  from  a  certain  variety  of  mosquito 

3 


34  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

that  has  a  malarial  parasite  in  its  salivary  glands  when  it 
bites  you.  You  protect  yourself  from  malaria  at  night  — 
the  time  when  these  mosquitoes  go  forth  on  their  deadly 
mission  —  not  by  shutting  out  the  air,  but  by  carefully 
screening  your  windows  to  keep  out  these  mosquito  pests, 
while  you  freely  admit  the  pure,  fresh  air  of  heaven. 

Children,  old  people,  and  invalids,  should  be  carefully 
dressed  during  cold  weather,  that  they  may  not  become 
chilled  during  sleep.  Babies  should  wear  some  sort  of 
sleeping  jackets  to  protect  their  arms  and  legs. 


CHAPTER  V 

MUSCULAR  EXERCISE,  OR  THE  ACTIVE  LIFE 

STRUCTURE  AND  FUNCTION  OF  MUSCLES. —  VOLUNTARY  MUSCLES. — 
INVOLUNTARY    MUSCLES. —  MAN    A    WORKING    MACHINE. —  How 

TO  REFORM  A  CHAIR. —  PROPER  STANDING  POSITION. —  SYSTEMATIC 
AND  SYMMETRIC  EXERCISE. —  REQUIRED  DAILY  EXERCISE. —  AGREE- 
ABLE EXERCISE. —  EXERCISE  AND  DIGESTION. —  EXERCISE  AND  THE 
CIRCULATION. —  EXERCISE  AND  RESPIRATION. —  EXERCISE  AND  THE 
MIND. —  EXERCISE  DANGERS. 

THE  bones  and  muscles  of  the  human  body  are  joined 
together  in  a  wonderful  fashion,  producing  an  organ- 
ization of  marvellous  mechanical  possibilities  and  repre- 
senting almost  every  known  principle  of  leverage.  The 
human  body  is  the  most,  economical  working  machine  in 
the  world;  that  is,  it  can  do  more  work  on  less  fuel  than 
any  engine  in  existence. 

STRUCTURE   AND   FUNCTION   OF   MUSCLES 

The  ability  of  the  body  to  engage  in  exercise  and  per* 
form  various  kinds  of  work  is  due  to  the  wonderful  prop- 
erty of  contraction  possessed  by  muscular  tissues,  which 
are  divided  into  two  classes:  voluntary  and  involuntary. 

Voluntary  muscles.  Voluntary  muscles  present  a  striped 
appearance  when  viewed  under  the  microscope,  and  con- 
stitute about  half  the  bulk  of  the  body.  Muscles  of  this 
order  are  supplied  by  branches  of  nerves  which  are  given 
off  from  the  spinal  column  and  are,  therefore,  caused  to 
contract  by  impulses  which  originate  in  the  brain.  About 
six  hundred  of  these  voluntary  muscles  are  sufficiently  large 
to  have  been  named.  What  is  commonly  known  as  a 
muscle  is  in  reality  a  bundle  of  hundreds  or  thousands 
of  little  individual  muscle  fibres,  and  the  muscle  as  a 

35 


36  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

whole  contracts  when  all  these  little  fibres  contract.  These 
fibres  are  gathered  together  at  the  ends  and  attached  to 
the  tendon,  which,  in  turn,  is  attached  to  the  bone.  All 
our  voluntary  movements,  such  as  talking,  chewing,  walk- 
ing, and  various  forms  of  working  and  muscular  exer- 
cise, are  performed  by  the  action  of  this  system  of  voluntary 
muscles. 

Involuntary  muscles.  The  involuntary  muscles  are  not 
found  in  such  large  bundles  as  the  voluntary.  They  are  quite 
generally  distributed  throughout  the  body,  but  are  found 
chiefly  in  the  internal  organs,  the  blood-vessels,  the  stomach 
and  intestines.  Every  little  hair  root  has  a  muscle,  the  con- 
traction of  which  causes  it  to  stand  up  straight.  Goose 
flesh  is  caused  by  contraction  of  these  muscle  fibres. 
Viewed  under  the  microscope,  the  involuntary  muscle  fibre 
does  not  present  a  striped  appearance,  hence  they  are  some- 
times called  smooth  muscle  fibres.  The  involuntary  muscles 
are  only  indirectly  controlled  by  nerves  branching  out  from 
the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  They  are  directly  controlled  by 
the  so-called  sympathetic  nervous  system  —  a  system  of 
nerves  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  brain  and  spinal 
cord,  having  its  chief  centres  in  the  chest,  abdomen,  and 
pelvis.  By  means  of  this  arrangement  it  is  possible  for  us 
to  sleep,  during  which  time  all  our  voluntary  muscles  are 
at  rest  because  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  are  at  rest;  but 
the  sympathetic  nervous  system  never  sleeps,  and  this  ex- 
plains how  the  stomach,  intestines,  heart,  blood-vessels, 
lungs,  kidneys,  and  liver,  all  keep  up  their  vital  work  — 
upon  which  life  itself  depends  —  while  the  man  himself  is 
enwrapped  in  slumber. 

Muscles  are  not  merely  mechanical  instruments  of  energy, 
but  are  also  storehouses  of  power.  A  great  deal  of  the 
heat  by  which  the  body  is  kept  warm  during  cold  weather 
originates  in  the  muscles.  This  is  the  explanation  of  shiv- 
ering and  chattering  of  the  teeth  when  one  has  been  sub- 
jected to  prolonged  chilling.  Muscular  exercise  increases 
bodily  heat;  therefore,  when  the  body  is  chilled  to  the 
point  of  danger  and  its  owner  does  not  know  enough  to 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  37 

engage  in  physical  exercise  for  the  production  of  heat,  Na- 
ture produces  involuntary  exercise  in  the  form  of  shiver- 
ing—  which  might  be  regarded  as  a  sort  of  lazy  man's  ex- 
ercise. This  is  exactly  why  patients  with  malarial  fever 
chill.  The  malaria  parasites  produce  a  refrigerating  poison 
which  lowers  the  body  temperature.  Nature  produces  a 
chill  to  counteract  this  influence.  She  frequently  overdoes 
the  work,  not  merely  counteracting  the  cold,  but  actually 
producing  a  fever.  (The  fever  aids  in  preventing  the  de- 
velopment of  the  parasites.) 

Muscles  can  be  made  to  contract  by  electricity.  Indeed, 
it  is  by  means  of  various  forms  of  electricity  that  diseases 
of  the  nerves  supplying  the  muscles  may  be  diagnosed. 
Muscles  contain  a  substance  which  scientists  have  named 
oxidase.  It  is  a  digestive  ferment  which  has  power  to  oxi- 
dize; that  is,  to  burn  up  the  sugar  which  nature  stores  in 
the  muscles  for  this  purpose.  During  contraction  muscle 
tissues  are  actually  destroyed.  A  too  rapid  destruction  of 
muscle  permits  the  accumulation  of  various  acids  and  other 
poisons  resulting  from  tissue  waste,  and  this  gives  rise  to 
the  local  muscle  soreness  experienced  after  undue  exercise; 
and  also  to  the  general  sensation  of  fatigue,  which  is  due  to 
the  circulation  of  these  muscle  poisons  in  the  blood. 

MAN   A   WORKING   MACHINE 

The  human  body,  embracing  its  bony  skeleton,  muscles, 
tendons,  ligaments,  etc.,  constitutes  the  ideal  energy  en- 
gine. As  previously  noticed,  the  human  body  can  perform 
more  work  with  given  energy  than  any  machine  ever  de- 
vised. The  combined  strength  of  all  the  groups  of  muscles 
in  the  body  is  equal  to  lifting  about  six  thousand  pounds. 
One-half  of  this  strength  is  in  the  legs,  one-quarter  in  the 
arms,  and  one-quarter  in  the  trunk.  The  human  body  is  a 
great  system  of  complex  mechanical  leverage,  and  at  any 
and  every  point  of  inspection  exhibits  abundant  evidence 
that  man  was  made  to  work. 

The  study  of  anatomy  shows  the  recumbent  posture  to  be 
the  proper  one  for  physical  rest.  Anatomists  tell  us  that 


95747 


38  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

man  was  never  made  to  sit  down.  It  is  evident  that  man 
was  made  to  stand  up  while  working  and  to  lie  down  while 
resting.  There  is  little  or  no  anatomical  provision  for  the 
sitting  posture ;  indeed,  it  is  altogether  possible  that  the  sit- 
ting habit  which  has  been  acquired  by  civilized  races,  is  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  responsible  for  a  vast  amount  of  deformity 
and  disease,  including  weak  lungs,  spinal  curvature,  consti- 
pation, hemorrhoids,  and  various  pelvic  disorders. 

HOW    TO   REFORM    A   CHAIR 

There  are  numerous  physical  conditions  which  might  be 
very  properly  termed  "  chair  diseases  " —  flat  chests,  weak 
and  crooked  backs,  flabby  abdominal  muscles,  etc.,  with 
their  consequent  train  of  pains  and  other  symptoms.  This 
chair  difficulty  owes  its  origin  to  the  fact  that  all  ordinary 
chairs  are  straight-backed,  while  God  made  man's  back  with 
a  curve  in  it;  therefore,  when  man  sits  in  a  chair  of  his 
own  devising,  his  back  assumes  an  unnatural  posture, 
that  is,  it  straightens  out  —  loses  all  its  natural  curve. 
(See  Fig.  8.)  What  are  the  results  of  destroying  this 
natural  curve  of  the  spine? 

1.  The   chest  flattens,   breathing  is  decreased,   the  lungs 
are  weakened  and  predisposed  to  the  various  diseases  which 
attack  them. 

2.  The  spinal  muscles  are  relaxed.    They  are  no  longer 
needed  to  hold  the  backbone  in  its  curved  position,  as  the 
back  is  resting  peacefully  against  the  back  of  the   chair. 
These  muscles  are,  therefore,  weakened,  and  as  a  result,  the 
bones  of  the  spine  are  easily  misplaced  —  producing  spinal 
curvature. 

3.  The    moment    the    chest   is    depressed    and    the    spine 
is  straightened,  the  natural  rotund  curve  of  the  abdomen 
disappears,  the  abdominal  walls  sink  in,  the  tension  is  re- 
leased, pressure  upon  the  internal  organs  disappears;   and 
this  permits  congestion  of  these  organs,  resulting  in  con- 
stipation and  many  other  serious  maladies. 

4.  This  continued  weakening  of  the  abdominal  walls  per- 
mits of  a  tumbling  down  of  the  internal  organs  and  is  fre- 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  39 

quently  attended,  especially  in  the  case  of  women,  by  seri- 
ous consequences  in  the  nature  of  pelvic  displacements, 
etc. 

We  cannot  eliminate  the  chair  from  our  modern  civil- 
ization, but,  with  the  foregoing  presentation  of  the  dele- 
terious effects  of  sitting,  it  is  evident  that  some  way  must 
be  found  by  which  the  chair  can  be  reformed,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, some  of  its  undesirable  tendencies  toward  disease  and 
deformity  eliminated.  It  is  specially  necessary  to  provide 
some  sort  of  corrective  chair  for  those  who  suffer  from 
weak  backs  and  abdomens. 

The  first  principle  of  this  reform  is  the  modification  of 
the  back  of  the  chair  so  as  to  enable  the  body  to  relax  and 
rest  its  tired  muscles,  at  the  same  time  preserving  the  nat- 
ural curve  of  the  spine.  Dr.  Kellogg  has  suggested  that 
this  be  done  by  hanging  a  cushion  about  six  or  eight  inches 
long,  four  or  five  inches  wide,  and  one  or  two  inches  thick, 
over  the  back  of  the  chair  —  not  to  rest  the  head  upon,  as 
is  commonly  the  practice,  but  to  extend  down  the  back  of 
the  chair  to  the  region  of  the  small  of  the  back.  (See  Fig. 
9.)  This  pad  will  maintain  the  proper  curve  of  the  spine, 
the  chest  will  remain  out  in  proper  position,  the  abdominal 
walls  will  remain  firm  and  tense,  the  breathing  will  be 
normal  and  natural,  the  spinal  muscles  will  be  rested,  but 
not  relaxed  to  the  point  of  producing  permanent  weakness. 
Our  chair  would,  indeed,  seem  to  be  reformed,  were  it  not 
for  one  unfortunate  fact.  When  the  muscles  of  the  trunk 
are  relaxed  with  this  support  at  the  back,  the  body  moves 
forward  on  the  seat  of  the  chair,  and  the  whole  effect  is 
spoiled.  Fortunately,  there  is  a  way  in  which  this  can 
easily  be  remedied.  The  seat  of  the  chair  can  be  made  to 
incline  backward  by  putting  blocks  one  or  two  inches  high 
under  the  front  legs,  or,  preferably,  by  sawing  one  or  two 
inches  off  the  hind  legs.  (See  illustration  of  reformed 
chair,  Fig.  9.) 

In  this  simple  way  an  ideal  chair  for  correcting  muscular 
weakness  and  properly  resting  the  body  can  be  made  out 
of  any  ordinary  household  chair.  It  is  not  necessary,  as  a 


40  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

rule,  to  disturb  the  legs  of  rocking  chairs.  The  mere 
placing  of  the  pad  in  proper  position  will  suffice,  as  the 
rocking  chair  permits  of  backward  tilting;  but  it  is  made  a 
little  more  comfortable  in  connection  with  this  reform 
process,  if  its  back  legs  are  shortened  a  little  on  the  rock- 
ers. 

PROPER   STANDING   POSITION 

Round  shoulders  and  flat  chests  are  largely  due  to  im- 
proper sitting  and  standing.  Instead  of  admonishing  the 
young  man  to  throw  his  shoulders  back,  it  would  be  better 
to  exhort  him  to  throw  his  chest  forward.  Athletes  and 
farmers,  as  well  as  sedentary  men  and  students,  are  round- 
shouldered.  This  is  due  to  their  faulty  attitude  while  en- 
gaged in  work  or  play. 

The  proper  standing  position  may  be  secured  as  follows: 
(See  Fig  10.) 

1.  Stand  with  back  to  the  wall  —  preferably  where  there 
is   no   baseboard.    Heels,   hips,   back,   shoulders   and   head, 
should  all  touch  the  wall.     (Fig.  10  a.) 

2.  Keep   the   heels   and   hips   against  the   wall,   bend   the 
head  backward  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  the  face  looks  up 
at  the  ceiling,  still  keeping  the  head  in  touch  with  the  wall 
—  meanwhile    pushing   the    chest    and    shoulders    forward. 
(Fig.  10  b.) 

3.  Maintaining   the   chest   in   the   new   forward   position, 
draw  the  head  forward  and  the  chin  downward  until  the 
head    is    properly    poised    on    the    chest  —  looking    straight 
ahead.     If  the  hips  and  heels  now  touch  the  wall,  the  body 
is  in  just  about  the  natural  standing  position.     (Fig.  10  c.) 

Bear  in  mind  that  both  lungs  and  muscles  are  weakened 
by  careless  and  relaxed  sitting  postures  — "  lying  down 
while  sitting  up."  The  correct  sitting  position  is  shown  in 
Fig.  10  d. 

In  this  connection  attention  should  be  called  to  the  un- 
natural position  of  the  bicycle  "  scorcher " —  an  attitude 
in  every  way  calculated  to  do  the  greatest  amount  of  harm 
and  yield  the  least  amount  of  good,  from  the  otherwise 
healthful  exercise  of  wheeling. 


D  -  Correct  Sitting    Positn 


TIC  10  ~      How  to  xecurt  propmr  standmjj  *nd sitting  positions 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  4! 

SYSTEMATIC   AND   SYMMETRIC   EXERCISE 

Physical  exercise  should  be  systematic  and  symmetric  — 
not  spasmodic  and  excessive.  Man  should  cultivate  his 
mental  and  moral  faculties,  as  well  as  develop  his  physical 
powers.  All  his  time  and  energy  should  not  be  spent  in 
oiling  the  machine  —  exercising  the  physical  body.  Part  of 
his  time  and  energy  should  be  devoted  to  mental  and  moral 
culture,  a  sufficient  amount  of  physical  exercise  being  taken 
to  earn  one's  living  and  to  keep  the  body  in  healthy  working 
order. 

Regular,  light,  and,  preferably,  useful  exercise  is  much 
superior  to  irregular  and  excessive  athletics.  No  doubt 
much  physical  good  has  come  from  our  modern  school  ath- 
letics, yet  every  physician  is  compelled  to  recognize  many 
undesirable  results  from  excessive  exercise  and  over-physi- 
cal training,  chief  of  which  is  the  so-called  "  athletic  heart," 
which  often  appears  several  years  after  the  discontinuance 
of  extraordinary  physical  activity  on  the  part  of  college 
athletes. 

It  is  much  better  for  the  health  to  train  and  develop  the 
heart  and  other  muscles  reasonably,  than  to  over-train  these 
organs  when  young,  and  be  compelled  to  discontinue  these 
active  exercises  in  middle  life.  There  is  great  danger  of 
fatty  degeneration  of  the  heart  and  other  muscles. 

REQUIRED   DAILY   EXERCISE 

The  amount  of  daily  exercise  required  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  much  discussion  in  scientific  circles.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  offer  definite  rules.  Everything  depends  upon  the  in- 
dividual, his  strength,  the  condition  of  his  muscles,  etc.  It 
is  the  writer's  opinion  that  for  the  average  healthy  man  or 
woman,  the  daily  amount  of  exercise  which  would  keep 
the  body  strong  and  healthy  is  represented  by  a  five  or  six- 
mile  walk  in  the  open  air  —  arms  swinging,  chest  well  ex- 
panded, abdominal  muscles  rotund,  the  spinal  curve  well 
maintained  —  in  fact,  the  whole  body  thoroughly  energized. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  this  represents  the  sum  total 


42  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

of  exercise  for  one  day.  Now,  if  one  does  housework, 
walks  to  and  from  the  office,  climbs  stairs,  or  engages  in 
any  other  line  of  work  calling  into  use  various  muscles  of 
the  body  —  this  work  must  be  subtracted  from  the  six-mile 
walk.  This  walk  is  suggested  as  representing  an  agreeable 
form  in  which  daily  physical  exercise  may  be  profitably 
taken  by  ordinary  individuals  in  good  health. 

Walking  on  a  level  surface  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  an 
hour  represents  an  amount  of  physical  work  equal  to  lift- 
ing one-twentieth  of  the  body-weight  through  the  distance 
walked ;  that  is,  a  man  weighing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  walking  six  miles,  has  done  physical  work  equiva- 
lent to  transporting  seven  and  one-half  pounds  over  the 
distance  walked  —  six  miles. 

The  average  workingman  —  day  laborer  —  is  estimated 
to  do  an  amount  of  work  equivalent  to  lifting  nine  hundred 
tons  one  foot  high  each  day.  This  is  equal  to  walking  a 
distance  of  thirty-eight  miles,  or  winding  nineteen  miles  up 
the  side  of  a  mountain  5,000  feet  high. 

Stair-climbing  can  be  made  to  serve  the  place  of  moun- 
tain-climbing. In  order  to  perform  the  exercise  of  lifting 
one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  one  foot  high  (the  daily  re- 
quired exercise  for  the  average  healthy  person  —  equiva- 
lent to  walking  six  miles),  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  up 
and  down  an  ordinary  flight  of  stairs  one  hundred  and  fifty 
times  during  the  day. 

A  good  form  of  indoor  exercise  is  "  running  in  place  " — 
such  as  taught  at  the  gymnasiums.  "  Heel  raising "  is  an- 
other good  form  of  exercise.  Rising  on  the  toes  (raising 
heel  two  inches  each  time)  fifteen  hundred  times  is  equal 
to  walking  one  mile,  or  (in  case  of  person  weighing  two 
hundred  pounds)  lifting  twenty-five  tons  one  foot  high. 

AGREEABLE    EXERCISE 

There  is  no  doubt  that  physical  exercise  is  more  bene- 
ficial when  it  is  pleasant  and  enjoyable.  This  is  true  of  all 
bodily  exertion,  whether  it  be  the  play  of  the  child  or  the 
work  of  the  adult.  The  more  one  puts  his  mind  into  his 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  43 

physical  exercise  —  the  more  he  himself  enters  into  his 
bodily  activity  —  the  greater  the  beneficial  results  to  both 
mind  and  body,  and  the  less  the  unpleasant  consequences  of 
fatigue,  weariness,  and  depression.  It  would,  therefore,  ap- 
pear that  the  ideal  exercise  from  the  standpoint  of  health 
and  utility  would  be  useful  work  which  is  at  the  same  time 
pleasant  and  agreeable.  It  is,  indeed,  a  blessed  state  for 
one  to  have  reached  the  point  where  he  can  sincerely  say, 
"  I  like  my  job." 

While  we  recognize  the  value,  from  the  standpoint  of 
light  physical  culture,  of  Delsarte  and  calisthenics  (em- 
bracing Indian  clubs,  dumb-bells,  wands,  etc.),  at  the  same 
time  we  are  compelled  to  classify  such  exercises  as  be- 
longing to  those  bodily  activities  adapted  to  semi-invalids, 
or  as  belonging  to  that  class  of  movements  calculated  to 
develop  grace,  harmony,  and  coordination,  rather  than 
belonging  to  exercise  suitable  for  healthy  muscular  develop- 
ment. We  would  not  be  understood  as  in  any  way  decry- 
ing these  calisthenic  exercises.  They  are  all  right  in  their 
place  —  certainly  harmless  at  all  times,  and  have  some  small 
exercise  value;  but  they  do  not  belong  to  the  class  of  real 
body-developing  and  health-promoting  activities  such  as 
walking,  running,  rowing,  tennis,  and  the  occupation  exer- 
cises as  found  in  housework  and  the  various  trades.  These 
calisthenics,  however,  are  beautifully  adapted  to  weak  in- 
valids and  debilitated  girls,  and  are  useful  as  beginning  ex- 
ercises for  a  large  number  of  people  whose  bodies  are  weak 
from  disease  or  disuse. 

In  physical  development  it  is  the  heavy  movements  that 
count.  Various  forms  of  apparatus  and  other  gymnastic 
work  are  good,  but  the  average  individual  will  not  take 
time  to  patronize  a  gymnasium  regularly.  However,  such 
persons  can  profitably  engage  in  systematic  exercise  along 
the  line  of  the  various  systems  of  so-called  "  self-resistive 
movements."  These  systems  of  exercise  are  based  upon 
the  principle  of  exercising  one  group  of  muscles  by  means 
of  resistance  on  the  part  of  its  opposing  group;  namely,  to 
flex  the  arm  slowly  and  energetically  while  at  the  same 


44  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

time  causing  the  extensor  group  of  muscles  powerfully  to 
resist  the  flexor  group,  and  then  to  reverse  the  exercise  — 
extend  the  arm  while  the  flexors'  strongly  resist,  all  the 
while  strongly  imagining  you  are  really  lifting  an  enormous 
weight.  This  form  of  exercise  is  not  only  beneficial  but 
economical,  in  that  both  groups  of  muscles  are  acting  at 
the  same  time.  The  muscles  are  pulling  against  each  other 
instead  of  pulling  against  dead  weights. 

Exercise,  to  accomplish  its  purpose,  must  be  carried  on 
each  day  to  the  point  of  perspiration.  A  daily  sweat,  as  well 
as  the  daily  prayer,  is  good  for  the  religion.  The  Good 
Book  prescribes  that  man  should  earn  his  bread  by  the 
sweat  of  his  face.  Please  note  that  it  does  not  use  the 
poetic  expression  "  sweat  of  his  brow."  The  brow  sweats 
very  easily,  but  one  has  to  work  a  little  longer  to  get  the 
whole  face  to  sweat. 

EXERCISE   AND   DIGESTION 

Daily  exercise  in  the  open  air  sharpens  the  appetite, 
quickens  the  digestion,  and  very  greatly  promotes  the  as- 
similation and  subsequent  oxidation  of  the  food.  In  fact, 
systematic  bodily  exercise  is  absolutely  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  good  digestion  and  the  proper  circulation 
of  the  blood.  Dyspepsia  and  despondency  are  the  hand- 
maidens of  physical  idleness.  Good  digestion,  all  things  be- 
ing equal,  is  the  happy  portion  of  nearly  all  who  work 
and  toil  with  their  hands  or  use  their  bodies  in  some  form 
of  physical  exertion.  Outside  of  the  realm  of  diet,  no 
other  physical  practice  so  greatly  influences  bodily  nutrition 
as  physical  exercise. 

All  forms  of  physical  exercise  which  produce  trunk  bend- 
ing, including  walking,  are  invaluable  in  the  prevention  and 
cure  of  constipation.  These  forms  of  exercise  promote  reg- 
ular, normal  movements  of  the  intestinal  tract.  Constipa- 
tion is  becoming  one  of  the  curses  of  our  present-day  civ- 
ilization, and  it  is  due  not  only  to  superficial  and  wrong 
methods  of  breathing,  resulting  in  abdominal  congestion, 
with  its  consequent  train  of  headache  and  depression,  but 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  45 

also  to  increasing  physical  inactivity,  which  comes  to  us  as 
a  legacy  of  modern  inventive  ingenuity. 

EXERCISE   AND   THE    CIRCULATION 

Cold  hands  and  feet  are  the  earmarks  —  pathological  tell- 
tales—  of  the  sedentary  life.  By  contraction  and  expan- 
sion, the  muscles  directly  influence  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  and  therefore  perfect  circulation  demands  daily  ex- 
ercise of  the  muscles.  Exercise  increases  the  force  and 
frequency  of  the  heart-beat  Excessive,  over-violent  ex- 
ercise may  dilate  the  heart,  and  is  always  dangerous  in 
weakened,  aged  or  obese  individuals,  or  those  with  hard 
arteries  and  weak  hearts. 

The  time  of  special  danger  to  the  heart  in  the  course  of 
violent  exercise  is  that  point  just  before  one  gets  what  is 
commonly  called  his  "  second  wind,"  a  term  signifying  that 
the  heart  has  become  able  to  pump  the  blood  through  the 
lungs  fast  enough  to  accommodate  the  increased  demand  for 
oxygen  on  the  part  of  the  exercising  muscles.  As  a  rule, 
sudden  sprinting  is  dangerous  on  the  part  of  men  and 
women  who  are  above  thirty-five  years  of  age. 

EXERCISE   AND   RESPIRATION 

Physical  exercise  favors  deep  breathing.  If  you  cannot 
breathe  properly  and  deeply,  run  around  the  block,  and  then 
you  will  be  able  to  breathe  ideally  in  spite  of  yourself.  Ex- 
ercise creates  a  demand  for  air,  as  it  does  for  water.  It  is 
therefore  a  cure  both  for  deficient  breathing  and  deficient 
water-drinking.  In  measuring  the  lung  capacities  of  a 
large  number  of  men  and  women,  it  has  been  found  that 
the  average  man  breathes  but  one-half  of  his  capacity  — 
one-half  what  he  should  breathe;  while  women  are  offenders 
to  the  astonishing  degree  that  they  breathe  but  one-fourth 
of  their  capacity. 

During  active  physical  exercise,  the  amount  of  air  (oxy- 
gen) taken  into  the  lungs,  and  the  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  (CO,)  given  out,  is  increased  from  one  hundred 


46  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

to  six  hundred  per  cent.  It  seems  almost  needless  to  em- 
phasize the  special  importance  of  fresh  air  in  all  work  or 
exercise  rooms,  and  also  the  necessity  of  having  the  trunk 
clothed  with  loose-fitting  garments,  freely  to  permit  of  the 
normal  respiratory  excursion. 

The  elimination  of  poisonous  matters  through  the  skin 
by  means  of  the  sweat  glands  is  greatly  facilitated  by  active 
physical  exercise.  Nothing  conduces  to  a  healthy,  beauti- 
ful skin  more  than  regular  exercise. 

EXERCISE   AND   THE   MIND 

Body  work  is  absolutely  essential  to  first-class  brain 
work.  The  studied  efforts  of  the  health-seeker  should  be 
to  secure  well-balanced  exercise  of  both  mind  and  body. 
The  proper  nourishment  and  systematic  exercise  of  the 
body  contributes  much  to  the  healthful  action  of  the  mind 
and  nervous  system.  Overexertion  is  detrimental  to  the 
nerves  and  in  no  way  helpful  to  either  mind  or  body.  Mod- 
erate physical  exercise  gives  one  the  best  command  of  the 
mental  faculties,  contributes  very  much  to  clearness  of  mind 
and  calmness  of  judgment,  and  in  every  way  favors  all- 
round  self-control. 

Systematic  physical  exercise  aids  in  the  destruction  of 
many  of  the  harmful  poisons  which  are  constantly  devel- 
oped within  the  body.  In  this  way  the  mind  is  kept  clearer 
and  the  soul  happier  —  the  mental  and  moral  struggle  of 
life  is  greatly  lessened,  for  it  is  the  accumulation  or  de- 
ficient destruction  of  many  of  these  body-poisons  which  is 
responsible  for  so  many  of  our  morbid  mental  states,  to- 
gether with  our  unhappy  and  melancholic  moods.  Physi- 
cal exercise,  then,  is  an  invaluable  aid  to  the  acquisition  of 
a  pleasant  disposition  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  even  one's 
religion. 

EXERCISE   DANGERS 

We  have  emphasized  the  harm  of  over-doing  athletics, 
calling  attention  to  the  danger  of  subsequent  fatty  degen- 


MUSCULAR  EXERCISE  47 

eration  in  heart  and  muscles.  Dr.  Winship  was  able  to 
lift  twenty-eight  hundred  pounds,  but  he  died  early  in  life. 
The  dangers  from  heat  stroke  must  be  borne  in  mind 
while  exercising  during  the  heated  term.  Heat  stroke  is 
most  likely  to  occur  under  the  following  conditions: 

1.  Alcohol. 

2.  Fatigue. 

3.  Close  rooms. 

4.  Clouded  sky. 

5.  Tight  clothing. 

6.  Humid  atmosphere. 

7.  Excessive  meat  diet  and  overeating. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY 

COLD  WEATHER  CLOTHING. —  WARM  WEATHER  CLOTHING. —  PROTEC- 
TION AGAINST  INJURY. —  THE  INJURIOUS  EFFECT  OF  CLOTHING. — 
FASHION  DEFORMITIES. —  PERVERTED  BREATHING. —  TREATMENT  OF 
WEAK  MUSCLES. —  CLOTHING  OF  THE  EXTREMITIES. —  THE  QUES- 
TION OF  UNDERCLOTHING. —  HEAD  COVERING. —  BED  CLOTHING. 

THE  real  purpose  of  clothes  is  not  display  and  adorn- 
ment, but  rather  to  protect  the  body  from  the  ele- 
ments of  cold  and  heat,  from  injury,  and  adequately  to  sat- 
isfy the  social  demands  of  modesty.  If  we  accept  the  doc- 
trine that  man  in  his  primitive  innocence  roamed  this  world, 
garbed  in  the  scant  attire  of  the  savage,  and  that  it  was 
only  with  the  awakening  of  the  consciousness  of  sin  that 
clothes  became  necessary,  then  our  external  adornment  be- 
comes a  token  of  racial  guilt  and  a  badge  of  conscious  sin. 
The  necessity  for  clothes  is  hardly  a  thing  to  be  proud  of. 
Clothing  is  a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  loss  of  the  primitive 
innocence  of  former  ages.  Why  should  so  much  time  be 
spent  on  clothing  the  body,  ofttimes  in  ways  that  are  highly 
injurious  and  disease-producing?  How  much  better  it 
would  be  to  follow  the  dictates  of  judgment  and  reason 
rather  than  to  be  guided  by  the  follies  of  fashion  and  the 
demands  of  popular  custom. 

COLD   WEATHER    CLOTHING 

The  chief  purpose  of  clothing  is  to  protect  the  body  in 
cold  weather.  The  average  man  is  unable  to  produce  suffi- 
cient heat  to  keep  the  body  warm  during  the  winter  unless 
that  heat  be  conserved  by  means  of  clothing  in  close  con- 
tact with  the  skin.  The  human  body  can  resist  heat  far 

48 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    49 

better  than  cold.  The  bare  skin  will  withstand  both  the 
heat  of  the  tropics  and  the  enormously  high  temperature  of 
the  Turkish  bath,  but  it  cannot  withstand  excessive  cold 
without  some  sort  of  protection. 

The  value  of  various  clothing  'materials  as  heat-conserv- 
ers  differs  greatly.  Linen  and  cotton  are  good  conductors 
of  heat,  and  therefore  are  better  suited  to  summer  than 
winter  wear,  unless  worn  next  to  the  skin  with  an  outer 
garment  made  wholly  or  partially  of  wool.  Wool  and  silk 
are  both  poor  conductors  of  heat,  therefore  not  adapted  for 
warm  weather  clothing,  but  well  suited  for  winter. 

Several  layers  of  clothing  are  much  more  useful  in  keep- 
ing the  body  warm  than  a  single  layer,  even  though  that 
single  layer  be  as  heavy  or  heavier  than  all  the  materials 
composing  the  several  layers.  The  modern  practice  of 
weighting  fabrics  with  "  earthy  "  materials  or  loading  them 
down  with  dyes  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  them  almost 
impervious  to  air  and  moisture,  is  to  be  deplored.  Many  of 
these  dyes  are  poisonous  and  cause  inflammations  and 
eruptions  of  the  skin. 

If  we  take  the  naked  body  and  represent  its  radiation  of 
heat  by  one  hundred,  the  ordinary  woollen  shirt  is  found  to 
reduce  the  radiation  of  heat  to  seventy-three.  A  linen  and 
an  outer  woollen  shirt  will  reduce  the  heat  loss  to  sixty.  A 
linen  shirt,  a  woollen  shirt,  and  a  vest,  reduce  heat  radia- 
tion to  forty-six;  while  a  linen  shirt,  a  woollen  shirt,  and  a 
coat  and  vest,  reduce  the  heat  radiation  to  thirty-three  per 
cent. 

Furs  are  more  ornamental  than  useful,  as  they  are  or- 
dinarily worn.  They  may,  indeed,  become  positively  harm- 
ful from  the  over-heating  of  a  limited  surface  of  the  skin. 
To  get  the  real  benefit  of  fur  coats,  they  should  be  worn 
with  the  fur  inside. 

Linen  absorbs  moisture  more  readily  than  wool  and  dries 
twice  as  quickly.  In  the  ability  to  absorb  bodily  moisture, 
cotton  comes  next;  then  silk.  Quick  moistening  is  a  time- 
honored  test  between  linen  and  cotton.  This  ability  to  ab- 
sorb water  largely  and  evaporate  it  quickly  makes  linen  a 

4 


50  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

very  desirable  fabric  for  underclothing  with  but  this  single 
objection:  too  quick  evaporation  of  the  perspiration  from  the 
underclothes  will  chill  the  skin.  This  single  objection  to 
linen  as  a  material  for  underclothing  is  overcome  by  the 
wearing  of  cotton,  or,  still  better,  woollen  outer  garmerits. 
This  arrangement  permits  the  quick  removal  of  the  exhala- 
tions of  the  skin  by  rapid  evaporation  through  the  linen 
under  garments;  at  the  same  time  prevents  chilling  by  the 
slow  passage  of  the  heated  vapors  through  the  cotton  and 
woollen  outer  garments. 

Starched  clothes  are  probably  a  little  warmer  during  the 
cold  season,  as  they  lessen  the  radiation  of  heat  from  the 
body.  Two  thin  suits  of  underwear  will  always  prove 
warmer  than  one,  an  air  space  existing  between  them  which 
lessens  the  loss  of  heat.  The  actual  temperature  of  the 
body  next  to  and  underneath  the  underwear  is  about  eighty- 
six  degrees. 

The  practice  of  attending  balls  and  other  evening  func- 
tions clad  in  low-necked  attire,  with  no  other  outer  wrap 
than  a  thin  opera  coat,  is  conducive  to  chilling  of  the  skin, 
frequently  resulting  in  pneumonia  and  other  internal  con- 
gestions. 

The  wearing  of  tight  garters  by  either  men  or  women 
interferes  with  the  circulation  of  blood  in  the  lower  ex- 
tremities, especially  the  return  circulation  through  the  veins. 
Varicose  veins  and  ulcers  of  the  leg  are  both  produced  and 
aggravated  by  this  practice. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  over-clothe  the  body 
during  the  winter.  Over-clothing  debilitates  the  skin,  pro- 
ducing unconscious  perspiration,  the  evaporation  of  which 
exposes  the  body  to  chilling  and  subsequent  colds.  The 
skin  must  be  kept  warm,  but  it  should  be  slowly  and  sys- 
tematically trained  to  react  to  cold  —  to  withstand  ordinary 
drafts  if  necessary.  In  this  way  one  may  gradually  build 
up  a  skin  reaction  which  will  prevent  many  attacks  of  cold 
and  grippe.  On  the  other  hand,  when  going  out  of  doors 
during  the  cold  weather,  do  not  forget  to  put  on  suitable 
outdoor  wraps.  While  it  is  important  not  to  over-clothe 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    51 

the  body  indoors,  it  is  equally  important  not  to  under-clothe 
it  when  going  out  into  the  cold. 

WARM    WEATHER    CLOTHING 

Clothing  also  serves  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  body 
against  the  heat  of  summer,  the  sunburn  of  the  sunlight, 
and  the  dampness  of  the  rainy  day.  The  essential  feature 
of  summer  clothing  is  porosity.  The  meshes  should  be 
large  and  the  weave  coarse.  Abundant  opportunity  should 
be  afforded  for  the  elimination  of  heat.  White,  gray,  or 
other  light-colored  clothing  is  better  suited  to  warm  weather, 
as  it  more  fully  radiates  the  light  of  the  sun,  thus  protect- 
ing the  body  from  the  absorption  of  external  heat,  as  well 
as  aiding  in  carrying  off  the  heat  of  the  body.  No  starched 
clothing  should  be  worn  during  the  summer.  Every  one  will 
recall  how  uncomfortable  stiff,  starched  shirts,  waists,  and 
other  summer  clothing  are  as  compared  with  loose-fitting, 
pliable  flannels  and  other  soft  clothing,  on  a  hot  day. 

Black  and  blue  garments  are  the  most  unsuitable  for  hot 
weather.  These  dark  colors  largely  absorb  the  heat  rays 
of  the  sun  and  transmit  them  to  the  body.  They  also  ab- 
sorb odors  in  a  larger  degree  than  light  colors.  Their  only 
advantage  (in  reality  a  disadvantage)  is  that  they  do  not 
show  the  soil  so  readily;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
they  gather  dirt  just  as  quickly.  While  there  are  many 
vocations  in  which  white  clothing  cannot  be  worn  because 
of  the  ease  with  which  it  is  superficially  soiled  and  begrimed, 
one  would  not  want  to  wear  a  suit  of  black  underclothing 
for  three  months  just  because  it  does  not  show  dirt. 

Since  white  materials  reflect  the  heat  of  the  sun,  they 
are  best  for  summer  wear,  but  when  they  are  very  thin, 
much  of  the  heat  passes  right  through  the  clothing  without 
being  reflected.  Therefore,  the  coolest  possible  garment 
for  hot  weather  wear  is  obtained  by  employing  a  thin,  white- 
colored  fabric  lined  with  a  very  thin,  dark-colored  lining. 
Such  a  garment  will  be  found  to  be  the  coolest  possible 
creation  for  summer  wear. 


52  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Waterproof  clothing  is  sometimes  worn  as  ,a  protection 
against  chill  and  dampness.  Such  garments  prevent  the 
evaporation  of  the  sweat  and  other  poisonous  vapors  from 
the  body.  For  this  reason  they  are  unhygienic,  and  should 
be  immediately  removed  upon  coming  indoors.  Otherwise, 
chilling  of  the  skin  and  derangement  of  the  circulation  re- 
sult from  this  retention  of  perspiration.  If  the  underclothes 
are  saturated  with  perspiration,  they  should  be  immediately 
removed.  Dry  the  skin  quickly  with  a  Turkish  towel  and 
put  on  dry  under  garments. 

PROTECTION   AGAINST   INJURY 

Clothing  serves  to  protect  the  skin  against  various  in- 
jurious agents.  Gloves  protect  the  hands  when  performing 
rough  work  and  during  cold  weather.  Shoes  protect  the 
feet  from  bruises  and  from  the  heat  and  cold.  Some  great 
evangel  of  reform  is  needed  to  revolutionize  the  modern 
methods  of  clothing  the  feet.  The  Chinese  are  not  the  only 
race  that  deliberately  distort  their  feet.  Among  the  bet- 
ter classes  of  the  civilized  races,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
find  a  foot  that  is  not  more  or  less  permanently  deformed. 
The  shape  and  impress  of  the  natural  sole  of  the  foot  is 
almost  entirely  ignored  in  the  making  of  the  modern  shoe- 
maker's last. 

Excessively  thin-soled  shoes  are  dangerous  in  both  sum- 
mer and  winter.  Colds  in  the  head,  disturbances  of  the 
bowels,  and  inflammation  of  the  pelvic  organs,  often  result 
from  long  chilling  of  the  feet.  We  cannot  find  language 
sufficiently  strong  to  express  our  condemnation  of  the  mod- 
ern, close-fitting,  pointed-toed  shoe,  with  its  ridiculous 
French  heel.  The  high-heeled  shoe  is  especially  detrimental 
to  young  girls.  No  mother  should  think  of  permitting  her 
daughter,  just  budding  into  womanhood,  to  wear  these  ab- 
surd and  health-destroying  creations  of  fashion  and  folly. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  man  has  a  foot  unlike 
that  of  the  monkey,  whose  foot  much  resembles  the  hand. 
Man's  great  toe,  corresponding  with  the  thumb,  is  the 
longest  of  all  the  toes;  therefore,  proper  fitting  shoes  can- 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    53 

not  be  made  after  the  lines  of  the  glove,  as  our  pointed- 
toed  shoes  are  constructed,  but  must  be  built  along  the 
lines  of  the  natural  foot. 

Laced  shoes  are  preferable  to  buttoned  shoes.  They  are 
more  easily  regulated  with  respect  to  ease  and  comfort, 
and  permit  of  more  unhampered  action  on  the  part  of  the 
foot.  While  rubber  shoes  are  a  boon  in  wet  weather,  they 
should  be  removed  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  Rubber 
heels  are  a  great  comfort  to  many  people. 

THE   INJURIOUS   EFFECTS   OF   CLOTHING 

It  is  a  practice  prevalent  among  most  savage  and  bar- 
barous peoples  to  deform  or  distort  some  part  of  the  body. 
(See  Fig.  n.)  The  Chinese  bind  up  the  feet  of  their 
aristocratic  girl  babies.  The  North  American  Indian  straps 
a  board  over  the  forehead  of  his  papoose  in  order  to  im- 
part a  fashionable  degree  of  flatness  to  the  head.  The 
African  belle  may  be  adorned  with  a  ring  either  in  the 
lip  or  in  the  ear,  while  her  cousins  may  be  grotesquely 
tattooed.  Among  uncivilized  races  such  practices  do  not 
seem  so  far  out  of  place;  but  when  civilized,  intelligent  — 
even  Christianized  peoples  —  resort  to  deforming  the  human 
body,  it  should  shock  our  sensibilities  to  the  point  of  serious 
contemplation. 

Among  civilized  races,  woman  has  come  to  be  regarded 
as  the  "  weaker  vessel."  She  is  not  so  regarded  among 
the  uncivilized.  An  African  explorer  was  unable  to  get  a 
male  porter  who  would  undertake  to  carry  a  heavy  box  of 
minerals  over  the  mountains.  At  last,  he  was  told  that  no 
man  could  carry  such  a  weight, —  that  he  would  have  to 
get  a  woman.  Thereupon  he  secured  the  services  of  a 
female  porter  who  easily  carried  this  enormous  burden  — 
so  heavy  as  to  require  two  men  to  lift  it. 

The  physical  weakness  of  the  modern  civilized  woman, 
while  resulting,  no  doubt,  from  many  and  varied  causes,  is 
chiefly  the  result  of  her  unnatural  and  unhealthful  mode 
of  dress. 

The    fundamental    principle    underlying   all    methods    of 


54  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

dress  is  that  we  should  make  our  clothes  to  fit  the  body 
given  us  by  God,  and  not  squeeze  and  distort  the  human 
form  divine  into  fitting  the  clothes  —  garments  which  the 
originators  of  fashion  may  decree  that  men  and  women 
should  wear.  It  is  bad  enough  to  constrict  the  feet  with 
unnaturally  shaped  shoes,  to  deform  the  skull  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Indians,  but  consequences  of  far  greater 
gravity  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  modern  practice  of  con- 
stricting the  waist,  thus  compressing  the  vital  organs  found 
in  the  chest  and  abdomen. 

Constriction  of  the  waist  by  corsets  and  bands  on  the 
part  of  women,  and  by  tight  belts  on  the  part  of  men,  can- 
not be  too  strongly  condemned.  We  are  aware  that  doc- 
tors have  recently  arisen  to  defend  the  corset,  claiming 
that  women  have  so  weakened  the  muscles  of  the  abdominal 
walls  from  tight  lacing,  that  the  corset  has  become  a  real 
necessity  to  the  present  generation.  But  who  can  fail  to 
discern  the  folly  of  such  philosophy?  It  might  be  argued 
with  equal  force  that  any  physical  or  moral  vice  of  the 
present  day  has  become  a  necessity  because  of  the  physical 
or  moral  weakness  which  indulgence  has  produced.  These 
champions  of  the  corset,  in  the  very  arguments  they  ad- 
vance, confess  to  the  fact  that  it  has  weakened  the  abdominal 
muscles  and  displaced  the  internal  organs  of  its  devotees. 
Far  better  it  would  be,  instead  of  defending  this  pernicious 
instrument  of  torture  and  deformity,  to  point  out  methods 
whereby  its  harmful  effects  may  be  partially  or  wholly  over- 
come, to  lift  a  warning  voice  to  every  mother  against  allow- 
ing her  daughter  to  be  "  formed  "  by  the  dressmaker  —  yes, 
to  teach  young  and  old  to  be  content  with  the  human  figure 
as  carved  by  Nature,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  the  human 
form  as  outlined  by  the  Master  Artist. 


How  pathetic  to  behold  the  young  girl,  while  her  brothers 
romp  and  play  with  freedom  and  pleasure,  having  her  form 
gradually  compressed  and  misshapen  by  the  tight  corset, 


ffing  Lipped  African 


Flat  Headed  Indian 


Font  of  Chinese 
lA/ornan  Deformed 
6y  '  3/nd/rrjj." 


A  Society  Be//B. 


PI  G.I  I."    Various  Fash/ an  Uefarm/'f/es. 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    55 

as  a  little  cucumber  might  be  forced  to  distort  its  form 
while  growing  in  the  neck  of  a  small  bottle. 

From  measurements  taken  among  various  savage  and 
uncivilized  tribes,  as  well  as  among  American  and  European 
women  who  have  never  worn  corsets,  it  has  been  found 
that  the  circumference  of  the  waist  of  the  average  healthy 
woman  is  just  about  one-half  her  height.  The  circumfer- 
ence of  the  waist  of  the  Venus  de  Milo  is  just  forty-seven 
and  six-tenths  per  cent  of  her  height.  (See  Fig.  12.) 
The  author  and  his  wife  have  measured  numerous  women 
of  different  nationalities,  whose  waists  have  never  been 
constricted,  and  have  almost  invariably  found  their  cir- 
cumference to  be  from  forty-five  to  fifty  per  cent  that  of 
the  height. 

So  pernicious  is  the  effect  of  waist  constriction  upon  the 
health  that  many  modern  physicians  have  come  to  recognize 
a  whole  group  of  diseases  as  being  caused  directly  or  in- 
directly by  tight  lacing.  Floating  kidneys,  headaches,  back- 
aches, sideaches,  and  liver  complaints,  are  ofttimes  caused 
by  this  fashionable  practice.  It  is  reported  that  a  German 
surgeon  had  to  open  the  abdomen  and  remove  a  portion  of 
the  liver  which  had  been  entirely  cut  off  in  a  case  of 
corset  constriction. 

Corsets  restrict  the  breathing;  they  weaken  the  abdominal 
muscles ;  they  displace  the  internal  organs,  favoring  con- 
stipation, and  indirectly  contributing  to  the  causes  of  indi- 
gestion, and  congestion  of  the  liver  and  pelvic  organs.  The 
corset  is  indirectly  chargeable  with  a  vast  amount  of  the 
sufferings  of  womankind  usually  designated  as  "  female 
complaints." 

The  wearing  of  corsets  has  probably  contributed  more 
than  any  other  single  factor  to  the  gradual  undermining  of 
the  physical  health  and  vitality  of  American  women,  in 
a  measure  unfitting  them  for  motherhood.  According  to 
eminent  authorities,  tight  lacing  predisposes  to  many  forms 
of  tumor-growths  of  the  pelvis  and  abdomen,  due  to  the 
disturbance  of  circulation  and  displacement  of  internal 
organs. 


56  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  author  would  not  have  it  understood  that  he  desires  to 
condemn  all  forms  of  corsets  and  hygienic  waists  or  other 
loose-fitting  supporters  and  waists  worn  by  excessively 
fleshy  women.  At  the  same  time,  observation  has  led  to 
the  opinion  that  practically  all  the  so-called  "  health  corsets," 
reform  waists,  etc.,  are  a  snare  and  a  delusion.  Many  of 
them  are  a  great  improvement  over  their  wicked  predeces- 
sors, but  at  best  they  should  be  regarded  in  the  light  of 
crutches  or  temporary  makeshifts.  They  cannot  be  relied 
upon  to  take  the  place  of  the  natural  tone  and  strength  of 
the  muscles,  which  must  be  built  up  by  painstaking  and  per- 
sistent exercises. 

PERVERTED   BREATHING 

It  must  be  evident  to  the  most  casual  observer  that  any 
long-continued  stricture  of  the  waist  will  produce  a  super- 
ficial type  of  breathing.  When  the  waist  is  constricted, 
the  diaphragm  cannot  functionate  as  in  normal  respiration. 
Its  downward  movement  is  prevented  by  corset  wearing. 
This  is  the  only  explanation  of  the  fact  noted  in  the  chap- 
ter on  Breathing,  that  civilized  women  employ  costal  breath- 
ing (chest  breathing),  while  men  employ  more  largely  the 
abdominal  type  of  breathing.  Women  have  to  breathe  with 
their  chests  —  often  with  only  the  upper  portion  of  the 
chest,  because  the  corset  prevents  expansion  at  the  equator 
of  the  trunk. 

Many  medical  men  of  to-day  believe  that  the  tight  lacing 
of  the  last  generation  is  in  many  ways  responsible  for  the 
fact  that  the  daughters  of  the  rising  generation  are  phys- 
ically inferior  to  their  mothers  and  grandmothers  when  they 
were  girls.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  inordinate 
distortion  of  the  human  form  must  sooner  or  later  exhibit 
disastrous  effects  upon  posterity. 

TREATMENT   OF   WEAK    MUSCLES 

Many  will  no  doubt  ask  what  can  be  done  to  overcome 
the  weakness  of  muscles  and  to  restore  misplaced  and  mis- 


FIG. 12.-    Versus   DE  Mi 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    $? 

shapen  internal  organs  resulting  from  tight  lacing.  It  is 
hardly  possible  that  many  of  the  victims  of  the  corset  can 
escape  more  or  less  lengthy  medical  attention,  but  there  are 
several  things  which  will  greatly  alleviate  their  condition 
and  partially  undo  the  results  of  this  wrong  practice.  We 
would  therefore  suggest  that  instead  of  continuing  the  corset 
because  of  the  weakness  it  has  produced,  some  suitably 
fitting  bandage  be  worn  which  will  extend  around  the  body 
and  serve  as  a  sort  of  hammock-support  for  the  lower  and 
most  pendulous  portion  of  the  abdominal  wall.  The  internal 
organs  have  a  tendency  to  displace  downward,  as  the  result 
of  constriction  at  the  waist,  but  may  be  partially  held  in 
place  by  means  of  this  abdominal  support,  which  should 
be  used  only  temporarily,  while  the  patient  goes  to  work 
by  proper  exercises  and  massage  and,  if  possible,  sinusoidal 
electricity,  to  strengthen  and  upbuild  the  abdominal  walls, 
thus  enabling  Nature  to  do  her  work  without  artificial  sup- 
port. The  cause  of  the  difficulty  must  be  removed,  as  none 
of  these  abdominal  bandages  should  be  depended  upon  any 
longer  than  is  required  to  strengthen  Nature's  crippled  re- 
sources. 

The   following  exercises  are  valuable   for  strengthening 
the  abdominal  muscles: 

1.  Lying  on  back  resting  hands  on  hips,  stiffen  knees  and 
raise  legs  to  as  near  right  angles  to  the  body  as  possible. 

2.  All  forms  of  trunk  bending  and  twisting. 

3.  Forward  bending  of  trunk   (keeping  knees  stiff)   until 
ends  of  fingers  can  touch  floor. 

4.  Lying  on  floor  face  down,  raising  both  the  extended 
hands  and  feet  from  the  floor  at  the  same  time,  supporting 
body  by  abdominal  muscles. 

5.  Deep  breathing,  walking,  and  even  proper  stair  climb- 
ing, all  help  to  develop  weak  abdominal  muscles. 

6.  Massage  to  abdomen. 

CLOTHING   OF   THE   EXTREMITIES 

The   clothing  of   the   extremities   deserves   more   than   a 
passing  notice.    The  arms  and  legs  represent  parts  of  the 


58  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

body  where  the  blood-vessels  are  most  exposed ;  where  the 
blood  is  more  easily  chilled ;  where  there  is  less  of  the  warm 
blood  and  animal  heat  to  keep  the  tissues  warm.  When 
the  legs  and  arms  are  chilled,  some  internal  organ  is  at 
the  same  time  proportionately  congested.  It  is  a  great 
mistake  to  put  so  much  clothing  upon  the  chest  and  abdo- 
men, frequently  entirely  overlooking  the  extremities.  Lit- 
tle girls  with  short  dresses  and  insufficiently  clad  limbs  and 
ankles  are  an  invitation  to  pneumonia,  and  often  when  they 
are  thus  clothed  at  the  critical  period  of  their  lives,  the 
foundation  is  laid  for  a  life-long  invalidism.  The  present 
short-sleeved  garments  may  be  a  hygienic  blessing  in  the 
summer,  but  they  are  a  positive  curse  in  the  winter,  as  the 
extremities  are  the  parts  of  the  body  in  special  need  of 
clothing  during  the  cold  season. 

Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  wearing  underclothes  or 
other  garments  at  night  which  have  been  worn  during  the 
day.  Likewise,  great  care  should  be  taken  to  arrange  prop- 
erly the  garments  worn  during  the  day,  so  that  at  night  they 
may  be  thoroughly  aired. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  dress  the  neck  too  warm  during 
the  cold  season.  The  wearing  of  heavy  furs  or  enormous 
mufflers  is  weakening  to  the  skin  and  productive  of  sore 
throats  and  colds.  The  only  parts  of  the  face  in  need  of 
special  protection  from  the  cold  are  the  ears.  Such  pro- 
tection is  best  afforded  by  the  ordinary  style  of  ear-muffs. 

The  pernicious  practice  of  suspending  heavy  skirts  from 
the  waist  is  a  curse  both  to  the  growing  girl  and  the  adult 
woman.  This  habit  interferes  with  the  proper  circulation 
of  the  blood  in  the  lower  extremities,  at  the  same  time 
producing  more  or  less  congestion  of  the  pelvic  organs. 
The  skirts  should  be  suspended  by  the  means  of  proper 
supports  from  the  shoulders  or  waist,  or  in  some-  other 
hygienic  manner  which  will  avoid  the  dragging  of  these 
heavy  weights  upon  the  pelvic  frame.  If  no  other  remedy 
can  be  found,  it  would  be  better  to  adopt  some  style  of 
knickerbockers  to  be  worn  in  place  of  cotton  drawers  and 
heavy  skirts. 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY          59 

THE   QUESTION   OF   UNDERCLOTHING 

In  discussing  underclothing,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
individuals  greatly  differ,  both  in  the  sensibility  of  the  skin 
and  in  the  ability  of  the  body  to  keep  itself  warm.  Ironclad 
rules  concerning  underwear  cannot  be  laid  down.  The  au- 
thor, years  ago,  was  accustomed  to  wear  the  heaviest  under- 
clothing during  the  winter,  but  by  practising  cool  morning 
bathing  for  a  number  of  years  and  reducing  the  weight  of 
the  under-garment  from  year  to  year,  he  has  improved  the 
skin  circulation  until  at  the  present  writing  he  is  wearing 
next  to  the  thinnest  cotton  union  suits  thoughout  the  winter. 
Much  can  be  done  to  train  the  skin  to  better  circulation 
and  reaction ;  but  this  must  be  done  very  gradually,  or  else 
the  skin  may  be  chilled,  and  pneumonia  and  other  serious 
diseases  may  result  from  an  over-enthusiastic  desire  to 
harden  oneself  to  the  cold. 

All  things  considered,  linen  mesh  is  the  best  material 
for  underclothing.  The  only  thing  against  it  is  the  cost, 
which  prevents  it  from  coming  into  general  use.  Linen  is 
the  ideal  fabric  to  wear  next  to  the  skin,  for  the  reason 
that  it  is  comparatively  light  for  the  protection  it  affords, 
and  holds  the  heat  moderately  well.  It  promotes  a  fair 
degree  of  heat  radiation  during  the  summer.  But  its  chief 
virtue  lies  in  that  while  it  serves  as  a  protection  from 
cold,  it  permits  of  the  free  passage  and  evaporation  of 
the  moisture  and  gases  which  are  exhaled  from  the  skin ; 
and  herein  lies  the  chief  objection  to  both  wool  and  cotton 
under-garments.  Next  to  linen,  cotton  must  be  accepted 
as  the  best  underwear,  and  wools  and  flannels  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  unsatisfactory  from  almost  every  stand- 
point. (See  discussion  in  fore  part  of  this  chapter.) 

It  seems  superfluous  to  remind  sensible  people  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  properly  changing  clothing  with  the  change  of 
seasons,  or  with  a  change  in  the  weather  during  any  one 
season.  Underwear,  overcoats,  outer  garments,  etc.,  should 
be  changed  according  to  the  season  and  to  the  temperature 
from  day  to  day.  Unless  there  is  a  great  change  in  tern- 


60  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

perature,  it  will  be  found  best  not  to  change  the  weight  of 
underclothes  from  day  to  day,  or  week  to  week,  but  to  meet 
these  changes  by  shifting  the  outer  garments  or  wraps. 

We  strongly  advocate  the  union  suit  for  boys  and  girls, 
men  and  women.  Its  advantages  are  many,  chief  of  which 
is  that  it  affords  uniform  covering  of  the  skin  without  over- 
lapping of  garments  in  the  region  of  the  abdomen  and  pelvis, 
where  they  are  least  needed,  and  where  undue  accumulation 
of  heat  is  undesirable.  They  do  away  with  the  temptation 
to  have  garments  drawn  tightly  about  the  waist,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  this  type  of  under-garment  will  soon  come 
into  universal  use. 

We  cannot  dismiss  this  phase  of  our  subject  without  a 
word  of  disapproval  for  the  long  dress  —  the  fashionable 
trains  and  trailing  skirts.  The  decree  of  fashion  in  this 
respect  has  been  a  little  more  reasonable  in  recent  years, 
but  still  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  some  women  of  culture 
and  education,  whose  garments  sweep  the  street,  gathering 
up  filth  by  the  pound  and  microbes  by  the  million.  This 
street-dirt  is  carried  into  the  home  and  scattered  over  the 
beautiful  rugs,  where  perhaps  an  innocent  babe  will  crawl 
about  and  infect  itself  with  some  deadly  microbe. 

HEAD    COVERING 

The  fashion  in  hats  is  subject  to  frequent  change,  but 
the  heavy  hat,  of  whatever  pattern,  must  rest  under  per- 
manent condemnation.  It  is  responsible  for  many  head- 
aches and  much  depression.  And  for  the  same  reason  the 
heavy  mourning  paraphernalia  must  be  condemned  as  un- 
healthful.  Some  more  hygienic  means  should  be  discovered 
for  expressing  one's  sense  of  bereavement  in  the  case  of 
the  loss  of  loved  ones.  Oculists  have  recently  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  wearing  of  veils  is  of  more  or 
less  injury  to  the  vision.  Compelling  the  eyes  to  see  objects 
through  a  network  so  closely  placed  before  them  is  found 
to  be  injurious  to  the  sense  of  sight. 

Straw  hats,  of  course,  are  the  ideal  for  both  men  and 
women  during  the  summer;  and  the  woman  who  has  a 


THE  PROPER  CLOTHING  OF  THE  BODY    6 1 

heavy  head  of  hair  will  find  them  most  acceptable  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

Men's  stiff  or  felt  hats  should  have  small  holes  at  some 
point  in  the  crown  to  permit  of  the  circulation  of  air. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  rigidity  of  the  hatband 
is  more  or  less  responsible  for  baldness  on  the  part  of  men, 
as  well  as  the  exclusion  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine  from  the 
hair  by  tight  and  close-fitting  hats.  This  no  doubt  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  men  are  ofttimes  bald  on  the  crown  of  the 
head  while  the  hair  grows  well  about  the  borders  of  the 
scalp.  The  theory  has  recently  been  advanced  that  super- 
ficial breathing  is  responsible  for  baldness.  There  is  no 
doubt  something  in  this,  but  it  still  remains  a  fact  that 
men,  while  they  breathe  much  more  deeply  and  normally 
than  women,  are  the  great  sufferers  from  baldness. 

For  exactly  the  same,  reason  that  heavy  hats  are  unde- 
sirable, the  modern  practice  of  wearing  an  inordinate 
amount  of  artificial  hair  in  connection  with  the  fashionable 
pompadours  or  so-called  "  rats,"  etc.,  must  be  condemned  as 
unhealthful  and  sure  to  result  in  subsequent  headaches  and 
ultimate  disease  of  the  natural  hair  itself. 

BED    CLOTHING 

Comparatively  hard  beds  are  more  hygienic  than  the 
soft  feather  beds.  We  use  the  term  "  hard "  bed  in  con- 
trast to  the  feather  bed,  and  refer  to  such  foundations  as 
a  good  hair  mattress,  box  springs,  etc.,  with  perhaps  a  cot- 
ton pad  resting  on  the  top.  The  old-fashioned  comforter 
is  undesirable.  It  is  easily  soiled  and  difficult  to  launder. 
Blankets  or  down  quilts  are  preferable.  Care  should  be 
taken  not  to  have  too  much  covering  during  sleep.  The 
body  must  be  kept  warm,  but  sometimes  less  covering  could 
be  used  if  the  sleeping  garments  were  of  the  proper  sort. 
The  ordinary  loose  nightdress  is  practically  useless  during 
the  winter.  Both  men  and  women  should  adopt  some  form 
of  sleeping  garb  which  will  protect  the  body,  especially  the 
lower  extremities.  Such  protection  is  probably  best  af- 
forded by  some  garment  of  the  pa  jama  type.  The  matter 


62  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

of  proper  dressing  at  night  deserves  attention,  because 
hygienic  sleeping  requires  that  the  room  should  be  cold. 
One  of  the  blessings  of  winter  is  to  be  found  in  the  ability 
to  sleep  in  a  cold  room  while  the  body  itself  is  kept  com- 
fortable and  warm. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION 

ANATOMY  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  —  THE  MOUTH.  —  THE  STOM- 
ACH. —  THE  LIVER.  —  THE  PANCREAS.  —  THE  INTESTINE.  —  PHYS- 

IOLOGY OF  DIGESTION.  —  DIGESTIVE  FERMENTS   OR  ENZYMES.  —  THE 

SALIVA.  —  THE  GASTRIC  JUICE.  —  APPETITE  JUICE.  —  THE  BILE.  — 
THE  PANCREATIC  JUICE.  —  THE  INTESTINAL  JUICE.  —  WHY  THE 
STOMACH  DOES  NOT  DIGEST  ITSELF.  —  WHAT  IS  SECRETION?  — 
STOMACH  AND  INTESTINAL  MOVEMENTS. 


process  of  digestion  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
and  interesting  studies  to  be  found  in  all  the  realm 
of  human  physiology.  The  proper  understanding  of  diges- 
tion is  very  essential  to  the  profitable  and  intelligent  con- 
sideration of  the  questions  of  diet,  food,  and  cookery. 
Therefore  space  will  be  given  to  the  study  of  the  physiology 
of  digestion  before  the  discussion  of  these  related  problems 
is  entered  upon. 

ANATOMY   OF   THE   DIGESTIVE   ORGANS 

Man's  digestive  canal  is  about  thirty  feet  long,  embracing 
numerous  organs  and  intestinal  sections,  extending  from 
the  mouth  to  the  rectum.  (Fig.  13.)  In  general,  the  ana- 
tomical structure  of  the  various  portions  of  the  digestive  tube 
is  very  similar,  consisting  of  connective  tissue  and  several 
layers  of  muscle,  containing  a  vast  network  of  nerves  and 
blood-vessels,  lined  with  mucous  membrane,  in  which  are 
embedded  untold  thousands  of  special  secretory  glands, 
wherein  are  manufactured  the  various  digestive  fluids.  The 
organs  of  digestion  are  five  in  number:  the  mouth,  the 
stomach,  the  liver,  the  pancreas,  and  the  intestines.  These 
five  digestive  organs  secrete  five  special  digestive  fluids, 
and,  as  will  be  seen  later,  there  are  five  great  food  elements 
to  be  acted  upon  by  these  digestive  agents. 

63 


64  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  mouth.  The  mouth  is  the  first  organ  of  digestion. 
It  is  the  mill  in  which  the  food  is  to  be  ground,  moistened, 
and  otherwise  properly  prepared  for  swallowing.  The  adult 
possesses  thirty-two  teeth,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that 
this  is  the  only  digestive  organ  having  teeth ;  therefore  the 
only  one  prepared  to  grind  food.  The  mouth  is  the  only 
digestive  organ  under  the  control  of  the  will, —  the  voluntary 
nervous  system.  The  saliva  is  contributed  by  three  sets  of 
glands:  the  parotid,  from  which  comes  the  most  important 
element  of  the  saliva,  the  submaxillary,  and  the  sublingual 
glands.  Numerous  small  glands  of  the  tongue  and  mouth 
also  contribute  their  secretions  to  the  saliva. 

The  taste  buds  are  located  at  the  base  of  the  tongue. 
The  nerves  of  taste  end  in  these  little  elevations,  which  have 
to  do  with  the  processes  of  digestion  as  will  be  seen  later. 

The  stomach.  The  stomach  is  a  distended  or  enlarged 
portion  of  the  digestive  tube,  marking  the  termination  of 
the  esophagus,  which  extends  down  from  the  throat.  At 
the  other  end  of  the  stomach  the  bowel  begins.  The  stom- 
ach is  lined  with  mucous  membrane  containing  numerous 
secretory  glands,  those  in  one  end  being  more  largely  con- 
cerned with  the  secretion  of  pepsin,  those  in  the  other,  with 
the  production  of  hydrochloric  acid.  The  muscles  of  the 
stomach  are  quite  strong  when  not  over-worked  or  over- 
distended.  It  has  a  very  large  nerve  supply  connected  with 
both  the  voluntary  and  the  involuntary  nervous  systems, 
which  no  doubt  accounts  for  its  being  affected  by  so  many 
different  mental  and  physical  conditions. 

The  liver.  The  liver  is  an  organ  of  both  digestion  and 
excretion.  It  is  in  reality  a  large  gland.  It  is  the  great  filter 
of  the  body.  The  blood  is  gathered  up  from  the  various 
organs  of  digestion  by  the  portal  circulation  and  carried 
to  the  liver,  where  the  poisons  it  contains  are  either  de- 
stroyed, changed,  or  rendered  less  harmful.  The  bile  is 
secreted  continuously,  but  as  it  is  needed  for  digestive  pur- 
poses only  at  stated  intervals,  it  is  stored  in  a  pouch-like 
organ  called  the  gall  bladder,  from  which  it  is  emptied  into 
the  intestine  when  required. 


SMALL 
NTESTIMES 


FIG  13.-    Diagram  of  the  DigBSttvE  System 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  65 

The  pancreas.  This  gland,  situated  a  little  back  of  the 
outlet  of  the  stomach,  empties  its  secretion  into  the  intes- 
tine along  with  the  bile.  It  is  one  of  the  smaller  glands  of 
digestion,  but  performs  very  important  work. 

The  intestine.  The  intestine  in  man  consists  of  the  small 
and  the  large  bowel.  The  small  intestine  is  about  twenty- 
five  feet  long  and  is  divided  into  three  portions,  the  first  part 
—  connected  with  the  stomach  —  being  known  as  the  duode- 
num. At  the  junction  of  the  small  and  the  large  intestine  is 
the  caecum,  from  the  lower  portion  of  which  the  vermiform 
appendix  extends. 

The  large  intestine,  or  colon,  is  also  divided  into  three 
portions,  the  ascending,  the  transverse,  and  the  descending, 
ending  in  the  rectum.  There  are  various  glands  to  be 
found  in  the  mucous  membranes  of  both  the  small  and  the 
large  intestine.  Anatomists  have  estimated  that  there  are 
millions  of  little  structures  in  the  intestine  after  the  fashion 
of  a  suction  pump,  which  draw  up  the  digested  portions  of 
the  food  for  assimilation. 

PHYSIOLOGY   OF   DIGESTION 

The  physiology  of  digestion  is  concerned  with  the  secre- 
tion and  action  of  the  various  digestive  juices,  whose  func- 
tion is  to  change  insoluble  food  substances  into  soluble 
states,  so  that  they  may  be  absorbed  through  the  intestinal 
walls  into  the  blood-stream. 

Digestive  ferments  or  enzymes.  Before  entering  upon  the 
study  of  digestion,  it  will  be  well  to  give  brief  space  to 
the  study  of  enzymes,  their  nature  and  methods  of  working. 
The  digestive  ferments  are  peculiar  substances,  secreted  by 
the  special  glands  of  the  various  digestive  organs.  They 
possess  the  remarkable  property  of  changing  food  from  one 
form  to  another  —  from  the  insoluble  to  the  soluble ;  and 
still  more  wonderful,  they  seem  to  accomplish  this  mar- 
vellous feat  simply  by  their  presence.  That  is,  apparently 
they  do  not  enter  into  chemical  combination  with  the  food, 
but  influence  the  splitting  up  of  the  food-substances  by 
fheir  presence,  in  a  manner  not  altogether  understood. 


66  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

A  very  small  amount  of  one  of  these  enzymes  —  for  example, 
pepsin  —  is  able  to  dissolve  and  digest  an  almost  infinite 
amount  of  protein.  In  general,  they  operate  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  adding  water  to  and  taking  water  away  from  the 
molecule  of  food,  thereby  causing  it  to  divide  and  subdivide. 
Experiments  have  been  made  in  which  these  ferments  have 
actually  digested  almost  half  a  million  times  their  weight  of 
food  substance.  Outside  of  the  required  temperature,  the 
only  condition  necessary  for  their  action  is  the  presence  of 
acid  or  alkali  —  some  acting  in  the  former  medium  and 
some  in  the  latter. 

There  is  one  important  thing  connected  with  the  action 
of  enzymes  that  should  not  be  overlooked.  If  the  products 
of  digestion  are  allowed  to  accumulate,  the  action  of  the  en- 
zyme is  interfered  with.  If  this  failure  to  remove  the  prod- 
ucts of  digestion  persists,  the  digestive  enzyme  begins  what  is 
known  as  its  "  reverse  action,"  a  process  in  which  it  actually 
undoes  its  previous  work  of  digestion  —  takes  the  soluble 
products  of  its  own  action  and  literally  builds  them  back 
into  insoluble  substances  of  the  food.  This  may  afford  some 
explanation  of  the  poor  nutrition  of  people  who  habitually 
suffer  from  dyspepsia,  slow  digestion,  and  weakness  of  the 
stomach  muscle. 

Ferments  or  enzymes  similar  to  those  found  in  the  stom- 
ach and  other  digestive  organs  are  found  in  many  food 
substances.  The  pawpaw  contains  a  very  powerful  enzyme. 
Milk  contains  one  of  these  ferments,  which  is  destroyed  by 
boiling,  and  this  accounts  for  the  fact  that  boiled  milk  is 
more  difficult  of  digestion  than  raw  milk.  Pasteurization 
destroys  many  of  the  germs  in  milk,  but  does  not  destroy  its 
digestive  ferment. 

The  cereals  contain  a  ferment  called  diastase  or  maltose, 
which  acts  in  a  manner  very  similar  to  the  enzyme  of  the 
saliva.  This  fact  is  utilized  by  the  brewer  in  the  process 
of  changing  the  starch  of  the  barley  into  sugar,  which  is 
then  allowed  to  ferment.  When  the  planted  seed  becomes 
warm  and  moist,  this  diastase  begins  the  process  of  con- 
verting the  starch  into  sugar  for  the  nourishment  of  the 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  67 

tender  little  sproutlet  until  it  can  reach  the  sunlight,  where 
it  can  manufacture  food  upon  its  own  account. 

THE   SALIVA 

The  saliva  is  the  digestive  fluid  of  the  first  organ  of  diges- 
tion, the  mouth,  and  comes  from  the  three  sets  of  salivary 
glands,  each  gland  contributing  a  special  portion.  It  is 
slightly  alkaline  in  reaction.  Its  digestive  ferment  is  called 
ptyalin,  and  changes  soluble  (cooked)  starch  into  sugar 
(dextrine).  This  dextrine,  or  sugar,  is  the  same  as  the 
sugar  found  in  fruits,  but  differs  from  cane  sugar.  The 
saliva  cannot  digest  raw  starch.  It  acts  with  difficulty  upon 
poorly  cooked  starch  —  cereals  that  have  been  boiled  but 
a  short  time.  It  acts  more  quickly  and  more  thoroughly 
upon  starches  which  have  been  baked  —  cooked  in  the  oven. 
The  more  thoroughly  starch  is  cooked,  the  more  fully  will 
the  saliva  digest  it.  An  illustration  of  the  fact  that  saliva 
changes  starch  into  sugar  is  found  in  the  simple  experiment 
of  prolonged  chewing  of  a  piece  of  dry  bread  or  toast. 
The  longer  it  is  chewed,  the  sweeter  it  becomes,  owing  to 
the  continued  changing  of  the  starch  into  sugar.  The  saliva 
and  the  salivary  sugars  aid  in  dissolving  the  various  salts 
which  nourish  the  bones.  These  bone-salts  are  also  dis- 
solved by  the  juices  of  the  stomach  and  intestine. 

Two  to  three  pints  of  saliva  are  secreted  in  twenty-four 
hours.  Tobacco  and  gum-chewing  increase  the  quantity  but 
deteriorate  the  quality.  Saliva  is  stimulated  by  dryness  of 
the  food,  mild  acids,  natural  food  flavors,  and  by  appetite. 
Its  action  is  hindered  by  drinking  at  meals,  by  acids  such 
as  vinegar,  the  oxalic  acid  of  pie-plant,  the  citric  acid  of 
lemon  juice,  and  even  by  tea  and  coffee.  The  saliva  is  a 
solvent  for  food,  moistens  the  mouth  for  speech,  cleanses 
the  teeth,  etc.,  in  addition  to  its  digestive  function. 

The  saliva  properly  liquifies  the  food,  and  all  food  should 
be  liquified  before  it  is  swallowed.  It  also  regulates  the 
temperature  if  food  is  taken  into  the  mouth  too  hot  or  too 
cold.  It  serves  to  protect  the  mouth  by  washing  out  noxious 
substances.  Its  secretion  is  almost  instantaneous.  It  is  af- 


68  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

fected  both  by  the  food  in  the  mouth  and  by  the  thought 
of  food,  from  whence  springs  the  saying  that  one's  "  mouth 
waters." 

When  food  is  properly  liquified  by  mastication  and  ad- 
mixture of  saliva,  it  finds  its  way  into  the  minute  circular 
troughs  which  surround  the  taste  buds  at  the  base  of  the 
tongue.  Here  it  bathes  the  organs  of  taste  with  the  various 
flavors  which  are  in  solution,  and  in  this  way,  through  the 
nervous  system,  messages  are  sent  to  the  stomach,  in  obedi- 
ence to  which  that  organ  begins  the  outpouring  of  gastric 
juice  in  about  four  and  a  half  minutes  from  the  time  the 
taste  buds  are  excited. 

The  process  of  swallowing  was  until  recently  regarded  as 
a  voluntary  one,  but  Mr.  Horace  Fletcher  and  certain  phy- 
siologists have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  when  food 
is  thoroughly  liquified,  swallowing  takes  place  involuntarily. 
This  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
chew  liquids.  If  one  undertakes  to  chew  a  mouthful  of 
water,  he  will  find  that  there  is  a  constant  tendency  toward 
involuntary  swallowing. 

THE   GASTRIC   JUICE 

The  gastric  juice  is  secreted  by  the  glands  of  the  stomach 
and  contains  two  ferments:  pepsin,  which  digests  the  pro- 
'teins  —  lean  meat,  the  white  of  egg,  beans,  cheese,  the 
gluten  of  the  cereals,  etc. ;  and  another  ferment  called  rennin 
—  the  milk-curdling  ferment.  It  is  this  ferment,  taken  from 
animals,  which  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cheese.  From 
five  to  ten  quarts  of  gastric  juice  are  secreted  in  twenty- 
four  hours. 

During  the  first  half  of  digestion,  the  stomach  is  divided 
into  two  unequal  parts,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  an 
hour-glass.  The  outlet  portion  contains  acid  gastric  juice, 
and  performs  very  energetic  movements  of  digestion;  while 
the  other  half  serves  as  a  sort  of  reservoir  in  which  the  di- 
gestion of  starch  is  continued.  If  the  saliva  has  been 
thoroughly  mixed  with  the  food  in  the  mouth,  starch  diges- 
tion continues  in  the  stomach  from  one-half  to  one  hour. 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  69 

Little  by  little  this  food  mass  is  broken  up,  passed  into  the 
more  active  end  of  the  stomach,  is  thoroughly  mixed  with 
the  gastric  juice,  and  every  now  and  then  a  little  of  it  is 
squirted  out  through  the  pylorus  —  the  opening  of  the  stom- 
ach—  into  the  first  part  o'f  the  small  intestine,  the  duo- 
denum. (Salivary  activity  is  resumed  in  the  bowel.) 

The  gastric  juice  contains  two  acids:  one,  hydrochloric 
acid,  is  secreted  by  the  walls  of  the  stomach ;  the  other,  lactic 
acid,  is  produced  by  the  presence  of  certain  germs  of  fer- 
mentation in  the  food.  It  is  the  over-production  of  either 
or  both  of  these  acids  that  produces  the  so-called  "  acid 
dyspepsia."  Their  under-production  will  produce  slow  di- 
gestion, for  the  pepsin  can  digest  protein  only  when  hydro- 
chloric acid  is  present.  The  slow  digestion  of  old  people 
and  others,  as  a  rule,  is  not  due  to  lack  of  pepsin,  but  to  a 
lack  of  hydrochloric  acid,  which  renders  the  pepsin  power- 
less to  act.  Hydrochloric  acid  is  a  good  germ  killer,  but 
when  too  much  is  present  in  the  stomach,  it  may  produce 
gastric  ulcer,  if  the  tissues  are  debilitated. 

The  time  food  remains  in  the  stomach  depends  entirely 
upon  the  thoroughness  of  its  mastication,  the  strength  of 
the  gastric  juice,  and  the  power  of  the  stomach  muscles. 
Therefore,  reliable  tables  cannot  be  prepared  giving  the 
time  required  for  the  digestion  of  different  foods,  as  perfect 
mastication,  keen  appetite,  strong  gastric  juice,  and  vigorous 
muscular  action  on  the  part  of  the  stomach,  will  cut  the 
ordinary  time  of  digestion  of  certain  foods  in  half.  The 
reverse  conditions  would  produce  an  increased  slowness  of 
digestion. 

APPETITE    JUICE 

In  his  remarkable  experiments  upon  dogs,  Pawlow,  the 
Russian  physiologist,  demonstrated  that  the  secretion  of  the 
gastric  juice  during  the  first  half  of  digestion  is  entirely 
regulated  by  the  sense  of  taste  and  the  keenness  of  the  ap- 
petite. The  presence  of  food  in  the  stomach,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  milk  and  certain  meat  and  vegetable  juices, 
produces  no  secretion  of  gastric  juice  whatever;  whereas, 


70  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

the  thought  of  eating  or  the  desire  to  eat  or  even  the  agree- 
able smell  of  food,  produces  an  abundant  flow  of  strong 
gastric  juice  in  about  four  and  a  half  minutes.  This  initial 
juice  —  the  only  juice  to  be  found  in  the  stomach  during  the 
first  half  of  digestion  —  has  therefore  been  very  aptly  called 
"  appetite  juice."  The  quantity  of  this  juice  may  be  great 
or  small,  according  as  the  appetite  is  good  or  poor. 

During  the  latter  half  of  digestion,  the  appetite  juice 
gradually  disappears,  its  place  being  taken  by  a  second  form 
of  secretion  entirely  changed  and  called  the  "  chemical 
juice,"  the  nature  and  strength  of  which  is  entirely  deter- 
mined by  the  products  of  digestion  found  in  the  stomach 
as  the  result  of  the  action  of  its  predecessor  —  the  appetite 
juice.  This  chemical  juice,  which  finishes  the  digestion  of 
the  meal,  is  probably  secreted  under  the  influence  of  the 
chemical  stimulation  of  the  half-digested  food  as  it  comes 
in  contact  with  the  walls  of  the  stomach.  It  would  there- 
fore appear,  if  one  had  a  good  appetite  and  in  consequence 
secreted  a  strong  appetite  juice  during  the  first  hour  of  di- 
gestion, that  this  would  insure  the  subsequent  secretion  of 
a  competent  chemical  juice  to  finish  the  digestion  of  the 
meal  properly  and  satisfactorily. 

Some  authorities  contend  that  the  chemical  juice  is  se- 
creted, not  as  a  result  of  the  nervous  mechanism  connected 
with  the  stomach,  but  in  response  to  a  chemical  stimulus 
which  passes  from  the  stomach  into  the  blood  during  the 
first  half  of  digestion.  The  taking  of  a  large  amount  of  oil 
or  fat  with  the  meals  greatly  lessens  the  secretion  of  gastric 
juice.  This  fact  is  utilized  in  treating  acid  dyspepsia. 

The  appetite  juice  always  has  the  same  standard  chemical 
formula  and  digestive  power,  always  showing  the  same  per 
cent  of  hydrochloric  acid;  whereas  the  so-called  chemical 
juice  constantly  varies,  the  changes  being  determined  by  the 
nature  of  the  food  and  the  previous  action  of  the  appetite 
juice  thereon. 

From  different  types  of  meal  given  to  his  dogs,  Professor 
Pawlow  discovered  that  a  different  kind  and  strength  of 
gastric  juice  was  secreted  for  each  type.  He  was  able  to 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  71  , 

detect  a  "  milk  type  "  of  juice,  also  a  "  bread  and  meat  type," 
and  it  would  seem  highly  probable  that  the  gastric  juice 
must  be  secreted  to  suit  each  meal.  This  fact  strongly  sug- 
gests the  advisability  of  not  taking  too  great  a  variety  of 
foods  at  any  one  meal,  lest  the  glands  of  the  stomach  be 
unequal  to  the  task  of  elaborating  such  a  complicated  secre- 
tion as  would  be  required  to  digest  such  a  meal  properly. 
When  a  long-used  diet  is  -changed,  it  requires  several  days 
for  the  stomach  to  become  able  to  secrete  the  proper  juice 
for  the  digestion  of  the  new  diet.  Some  dogs  required 
twenty-one  days  to  get  used  to  a  new  diet. 

Many  of  these  facts  concerning  digestion  were  discovered 
by  Pawlow  by  means  of  an  ingenious  surgical  operation 
which  he  performed  upon  dogs  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
a  "  sample  stomach,"  separate  and  distinct  from  the  main 
stomach  and  about  one-eighth  its  size.  (Fig.  14.)  This 
smaller  stomach  he  created  out  of  a  portion  of  the  wall  of 
the  stomach  itself.  Its  opening  was  outside  of  the  body,  so 
that  he  was  able  at  all  times  to  collect  from  it  a  sample  of 
the  secretions  formed  in  the  larger  stomach.  He  also  made 
an  opening  into  the  gullets  (esophagus)  of  some  of  the  dogs, 
so  that  when  they  were  fed,  the  food  would  fall  into  a  basin 
instead  of  entering  the  stomach.  This  process  was  called 
"  sham  feeding "  and  it  was  found  to  produce  very  strong 
gastric  juice  in  the  stomach  even  when  no  food  at  all  entered 
the  stomach. 

Pawlow,  at  the  end  of  his  very  painstaking  investigation, 
announced  as  his  general  conclusion  that  "  appetite  equals 
juice  "  and  therefore,  since  good  gastric  juice  means  good 
digestion,  we  may  very  appropriately  add,  good  appetite 
equals  good  digestion,  all  things  being  equal.  Milk  produces 
a  weak  gastric  juice,  meat  juice  is  somewhat  stronger,  while 
bread  produces  the  strongest  juice  in  digestive  power,  being 
about  three  times  as  powerful  as  the  milk  and  meat  juices. 

Fear,  fright,  worry,  or  disappointment,  causes  an  almost 
instantaneous  suspension  of  the  stomach's  secretions. 

Ordinarily  the  stomach  does  not  permit  solid  particles 
of  food  to  leave  its  portals  until  very  near  the  close  of  di- 


?2  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

gestion.  When  solid  particles  of  food  come  in  contact  with 
the  outlet  of  the  stomach,  a  spasm  occurs,  and  X-ray  ob- 
servations on  animals  have  shown  that  the  outlet  opens 
much  less  frequently  for  ten  to  thirty  minutes  under  such 
circumstances.  Eventually,  the  strength  of  the  stomach 
muscle  is  exhausted,  action  is  suspended,  fermentation  be- 
gins, flatulency,  heartburn,  and  general  poisoning  of  the 
system  result  from  this  failure  of  the  food  to  pass  out  of 
the  stomach  in  the  required  time.  Many  cases  of  dilated 
stomach  undoubtedly  owe  their  origin  to  this  cause. 

THE   BILE 

The  bile  is  an  excretion  formed  by  the  liver,  largely  from 
the  broken-down  red  blood  corpuscles.  It  is  a  golden-col- 
ored substance,  which  appears  green  when  vomited,  owing 
to  the  changes  effected  by  the  acid  of  the  stomach.  On 
being  expelled  from  the  liver,  the  bile  is  stored  in  the  gall- 
bladder, from  whence  it  is  poured  out  in  common  with  the 
pancreatic  juice  immediately  after  each  meal.  These  two 
juices  are  emptied  into  the  duodenum  or  upper  portion  of 
the  small  intestine,  not  far  from  the  outlet  of  the  stomach. 

The  bile  contains  several  salts  which  are  useful  in  the 
process  of  digestion.  Recent  investigations  show  that  the 
outpouring  of  bile  is  determined  by  the  same  influences 
which  regulate  the  secretion  of  the  pancreatic  juice.  The 
presence  of  bile  doubles  the  activity  of  the  starch-digesting 
ferment  of  the  pancreatic  juice,  and  also  increases  the  ability 
of  the  pancreatic  juice  to  digest  proteins,  while  the  in- 
fluence of  this  juice  upon  fats  is  trebled  by  the  presence  of 
bile. 

The  chief  function  of  the  bile  is  to  dissolve  fat.  The 
action  of  the  bile  upon  fat  results  in  the  formation  of  soap 
and  glycerine  —  saponification.  The  fat  enters  the  intes- 
tinal wall  in  the  form  of  soap  or  fatty  acid,  where  it  is 
changed  back  into  emulsified  fat  during  the  process  of  ab- 
sorption. 

The  emulsification  of  fat  by  the  bile  is  really  a  process 
of  unchurninqr  the  butter  —  chanjrrr-'  tV.c  butter  back  into 


A-    The.  Main  5tomach 

S  -  7/?e  small  ort  Sample  Stomach 

C  "  The  jfrin  of  the.  Abdomen 


C 


FIG  14     Diagram  Illustrating  the 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  73    . 

the  form  of  cream,  where  the  fat  exists  as  minute  droplets, 
and  in  this  form  it  is  easily  acted  upon  by  the  digestive 
juices  of  the  intestine. 

THE   PANCREATIC   JUICE 

This  digestive  fluid  enters  the  duodenum  along  with  the 
bile,  and  is  one  of  the  important  digestive  juices.  The  secre- 
tion of  this  juice  together  with  the  bile,  is  probably  very 
little  influenced  or  controlled  by  the  nervous  system.  The 
secretion  of  saliva  and  gastric  juice  is  almost  entirely  under 
nervous  control,  whereas  the  production  of  bile  and  pan- 
creatic juice  is  now  thought  to  be  under  almost  exclusive 
chemical  control. 

During  digestion,  as  the  acid  contents  of  the  stomach  are 
injected  into  the  bowel,  the  action  of  the  acid  on  the  in- 
testinal mucous  membrane  produces  a  sudden  closure  of  the 
stomach.  The  stomach  does  not  again  open  to  empty  it- 
self until  this  acid  has  been  neutralized  by  the  bile  and  the 
alkaline  pancreatic  juice. 

The  presence  of  acid  in  the  intestine  causes  the  bowel  to 
produce  a  substance  called  secretin  —  a  sort  of  chemical 
messenger  to  the  liver  and  the  pancreas,  telling  them  how 
soon  their  secretions  will  be  needed.  This  substance  has 
been  collected  and,  when  injected  into  the  blood-stream  of 
an  animal,  never  fails  to  produce  an  immediate  secretion  of 
both  bile  and  pancreatic  juice.  There  are  a  large  number 
of  these  chemical  messengers  secreted  by  the  body,  and  as 
a  class  they  are  known  as  hormones. 

The  pancreatic  juice  is  alkaline  in  reaction  and  contains 
a  number  of  digestive  ferments,  acting  upon  almost  all 
classes  of  foods.  One  ferment  (amylopsin)  digests  starch. 
It  is  even  able  to  act  upon  raw  starch,  very  largely  convert- 
ing it  into  sugar ;  it  finishes  the  work  of  starch  digestion 
which  may  have  escaped  the  mouth  and  stomach  as  a  result 
of  insufficient  mastication.  Another  ferment  (trypsin) 
acts  in  the  same  role  as  the  pepsin  of  the  stomach,  digest- 
ing proteins.  The  other  ferment  (steapsin)  emulsifies  fats 
in  connection  with  the  bile.  A  milk-coagulating  ferment  is 


74  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

also  probably  present.  The  pancreatic  juice  continues  its 
three-fold  digestive  work  as  the  food  mass  is  moved  along 
the  intestine. 

The  action  of  the  pancreatic  juice  would  amount  to  almost 
nothing,  were  it  not  for  the  influence  of  the  bile  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  action  of  a  certain  ferment  of  the  in- 
testinal juice  on  the  other  hand.  This  stimulating  enzyme 
of  the  intestinal  fluid  is  called  enterokinase,  or  the  "  ferment 
of  ferments." 

THE   INTESTINAL   JUICE 

This  is  the  last  of  the  five  digestive  juices.  It  is  secreted" 
by  special  glands  found  in  the  intestinal  wall,  more  es- 
pecially in  the  upper  portion  of  the  bowel.  The  presence 
of  food  in  the  bowel  excites  the  formation  of  this  juice. 
Its  action  is  hindered  by  too  little  bulk  in  the  food.  The 
exciting  action  of  the  "  ferment  of  ferments,"  stimulates 
the  pancreatic  juice  in  the  work  of  digesting  proteins.  The 
intestinal  juice  contains  a  ferment  known  as  erepsin,  which 
also  digests  proteins.  Perhaps  the  most  important  digestive 
ferment,  however,  is  invertase,  whose  work  is  to  transform 
ordinary  cane  sugar  into  fruit  sugar.  Fruit  sugars  are  all 
ready  to  pass  through  the  intestinal  wall  without  digestion, 
but  cane  sugar,  maple  sugar,  beet  sugar,  etc.,  must  be  "  split 
up  "  by  invertase  before  they  can  be  absorbed  through  the 
bowel  wall.  From  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent  of  the  cellulose  is 
digested  in  the  bowel  by  the  action  of  various  microbes. 

WHY   THE   STOMACH   DOES   NOT   DIGEST   ITSELF 

Physiologists  have  long  discussed  and  sought  for  the  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomenon  of  the  stomach  digesting  the 
flesh  of  animals  and  at  the  same  time  not  digesting  itself. 
The  theory  was  advanced  that  the  gastric  juice  acted  upon 
dead  tissues  only,  but  a  certain  French  physiologist  disproved 
this  by  placing  a  portion  of  the  living  stomach  of  a  dog  in- 
side the  stomach  of  another  dog,  where  it  was  promptly  di- 
gested. The  true  explanation  was  but  recently  discovered. 


THE  MARVELS  OF  DIGESTION  75 

A  physiologist  asked  himself  the  question :  "  How  can  a 
tapeworm  live  in  the  bowel  without  being  acted  upon  by  the 
juices  which  digest  meat  ? "  The  study  of  tapeworms  led 
to  the  discovery  of  a  substance  now  know  as  "  anti-ferment." 
It  is  the  secretion  of  this  substance  by  tapeworms  and  by 
the  walls  of  the  digestive  tract,  that  preserves  both  stomach 
and  intestine  from  the  action  of  their  own  digestive  fluids. 

WHAT   IS   SECRETION? 

There  is  a  mystery  connected  with  the  secretion  of  the  di- 
gestive fluids  which  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained 
by  science.  These  wonderful  juices  are  not  mere  filtrations 
from  the  blood  into  the  digestive  glands ;  there  appears  to  be 
a  sort  of  selective  intelligence  —  some  influence  at  work  not 
explained  by  either  physics  or  chemistry.  For  instance: 
the  salivary  glands  produce  saliva  when  the  blood-pressure 
within  them  is  twice  as  great  as  in  the  blood-vessels ;  under 
which  conditions  one  would  naturally  expect  any  secretion 
formed  to  pass  into  the  blood  rather  than  to  flow  into  the 
mouth  against  such  increased  pressure.  Again,  by  what 
means  can  the  stomach  form  an  acid  juice  out  of  the  blood, 
while  the  pancreatic  gland,  from  the  same  blood-stream, 
forms  an  alkaline  juice?  Many  theories  are  advanced  to 
explain  these  phenomena,  but  as  yet  none  have  done  so  sat- 
isfactorily. 

STOMACH   AND   INTESTINAL   MOVEMENTS 

The  muscular  movements  of  digestion  begin  in  the  mouth 
with  chewing;  they  continue  with  wave-like  contractions 
down  the  esophagus  until  the  food  is  deposited  in  the 
stomach.  During  the  process  of  eating,  the  stomach  is  in 
a  relaxed  and  quiet  state.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  meal, 
the  stomach  is  divided  by  a  constriction  ring  into  two  por- 
tions: Starch  digestion  continues  in  the  fundus  or  reser- 
voir end;  while  contractions  appear  in  the  other  (pyloric) 
end  in  about  five  minutes  after  the  meal.  Contraction  waves 
travel  from  the  constriction  ring  of  the  stomach  toward  the 


76  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

pylorus,  or  outlet,  every  ten  seconds,  each  wave  requiring 
thirty-six  seconds  —  three  hundred  and  sixty  waves  per 
hour.  Fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  contraction,  food  be- 
gins to  squirt  through  the  pylorus.  The  action  of  the  pylorus 
in  permitting  the  digested  and  liquid  portions  of  the  stom- 
ach's contents  to  regularly  escape  is  greatly  interfered 
with  when  hard  particles  or  unmasticated  masses  of  food 
are  brought  in  contact  with  the  outlet.  These  solid  or  semi- 
solid  substances,  upon  coming  in  contact  with  the  pyloric 
opening,  set  up  more  or  less  of  a  spasm  —  the  pylorus  con- 
tracts down  and  for  some  time  following  opens  much  less 
regularly  and  frequently.  As  previously  noted,  this  inter- 
ference with  the  food  passing  out  of  the  stomach  may  persist 
for  from  a  few  minutes  up  to  half  an  hour.  The  stomach 
performs  about  three  thousand  distinct  muscular  contrac- 
tions in  emptying  itself. 

In  the  intestine  a  rhythmic  segmentation  or  chopping 
movement  takes  place  about  thirty  times  per  minute. 
The  slender  string  of  food  may  undergo  division  more 
than  a  thousand  times  without  moving  onward.  Every  now 
and  then  the  intestines  execute  an  onward  peristaltic  move- 
ment The  intestines  also  execute  a  general  swaying  move- 
ment. The  little  suction  pumps  or  villi  of  the  bowel,  esti- 
mated to  be  about  ten  million  in  number,  dip  down  into  the 
digested  food-mass  hundreds  of  times,  and  thus  the  process 
of  absorption  progresses  as  the  food-mass  is  slowly  moved 
along  the  digestive  tube. 

These  movements  continue  all  along  the  small  intestine 
until  the  food  reaches  the  large  bowel;  then  we  have  what 
is  called  "  reverse  peristalsis,"  that  is  —  movements  which 
force  the  food  back  toward  the  small  intestine  and  thus  pro- 
long its  stay  in  the  large  bowel  for  purposes  of  absorption. 
Now  and  then  this  reverse  movement  is  suspended  and  there 
is  a  true  peristaltic  movement  in  the  large  intestine  which 
passes  the  food  residue  along  toward  the  rectum. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 

ASSIMILATION  OF  FOOD. —  ELIMINATION  OF  BODY  WASTES. —  THE 
ELEMENTS  OF  NUTRITION. —  PROTEINS. —  STARCHES. —  FRUIT 
SUGARS. —  FATS. —  MINERAL  SALTS. —  CELLULOSE. —  WATER. —  AN- 
IMAL HEAT. —  DAILY  FOOD  REQUIREMENTS. —  EXPLANATION  OF 
FOOD  TABLES. —  DAILY  FOOD  REQUIREMENTS,  TABLE  No.  I. —  DAILY 
FOOD  REQUIREMENTS,  TABLE  No.  2. —  SUGGESTIVE  BILLS  OF  FARE, 
TABLE  No.  3. 

THE  process  of  digestion  represents  but  one  step  in  the 
great  work  of  converting  the  food  substances  into 
blood,  bone,  and  muscle.  Absorption,  assimilation,  and  ox- 
idation are  all  parts  of  the  great  cycle  through  which  the 
food  passes  on  its  way  from  the  table  to  the  tissues. 
Elimination  is  the  last  step  in  nutrition  —  the  body  ridding 
itself  of  the  broken-down  cells  and  poisonous  wastes.  These 
various  phases  of  bodily  nutrition  may  be  expressed  in  a 
single  term  —  metabolism. 

Both  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  material  entering 
into  the  structure  of  the  human  body  are  important.  If 
you  were  erecting  a  beautiful  mansion,  you  would  not  think 
of  allowing  cheap,  trashy,  and  inferior  building  materials 
to  enter  into  the  construction  of  your  home.  Neither 
should  you  permit  unfit  and  inferior  materials  to  become  a 
part  of  your  daily  diet,  and  thus  enter  into  the  structure  of 
the  physical  body. 

ASSIMILATION    OF   FOOD 

Following  the  process  of  digestion  in  the  stomach  and  in- 
testine, the  food  elements  are  absorbed  through  the  wall  of 
the  bowel,  and  distributed  by  various  routes  to  the  body. 

77 


78  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  sugars  (all  starches  are  changed  into  sugar)  are  car- 
ried in  the  portal  blood-stream  to  the  liver,  where  they  are 
stored  in  the  form  of  glycogen.  The  liver  deals  out  this 
glycogen  to  the  body  from  hour  to  hour  as  it  is  needed  for 
fuel.  If  all  the  sugar,  after  a  hearty  meal,  were  poured 
into  the  circulation  at  once,  the  blood-stream  would  be  over- 
whelmed and  the  kidneys  would  be  forced  to  excrete  it  in 
the  urine.  This  unnecessary  waste  is  avoided  by  the  liver's 
storing  sugar  after  each  meal  and  doling  it  out  to  the  body 
as  required. 

Likewise  the  proteins  also  pass  through  the  liver  on  their 
way  to  the  body.  Just  what  action  the  liver  exerts  upon 
proteins  is  not  wholly  known  at  the  present  writing.  The 
digested  fats  are  absorbed  at  once  by  the  lacteals,  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  intestinal  lymphatic  system,  by  which  they 
are  carried  to  the  large  veins  at  the  root  of  the  neck  and 
there  emptied  into  the  blood-stream.  We  have  now  traced 
our  various  food  elements  through  the  processes  of  diges- 
tion and  absorption  in  the  alimentary  tract,  some  going 
through  the  liver,  and  others  through  the  lymphatic  sys- 
tem, until  they  are  now  circulating  in  the  blood-stream. 

It  is  from  these  food  substances  circulating  in  the  blood- 
stream, that  the  various  cells  of  the  body  must  assimilate 
into  themselves  such  portions  as  they  require  for  purposes 
of  heat  and  energy  and  for  the  repair  of  their  cell  substance. 
Cell  assimilation  converts  the  liquid  blood  into  solid  tissue, 
exactly  reversing  the  process  of  digestion.  From  the  varied 
substances  in  the  nourishing  blood-stream,  each  little  cell 
intelligently  selects  those  elements  especially  suited  to  its 
work  and  structure.  The  mysteries  of  assimilation  are  ef- 
fected by  means  of  various  enzymes  similar  to  those  found 
in  the  digestive  organs,  but  acting  in  an  entirely  different 
manner,  in  that  they  build  up  solids  out  of  liquids  instead  of 
converting  solids  into  liquids. 

ELIMINATION    OF   BODY    WASTES 

Metabolism  consists,  in  an  up-building  and  a  tearing-down 
process.  After  the  food  is  all  digested,  absorbed,  and  assim- 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  79 

ilated,  having  become  a  part  of  the  body,  then  begins  the 
work  of  tearing  it  down  —  of  liberating  its  heat  and  energy 
—  to  be  followed  by  its  elimination  from  the  body.  The  car- 
bohydrates (starches  and  sugars)  together  with  the  fats, 
are  completely  burned  up  in  the  body  and  are  then  elimi- 
nated in  the  form  of  water  and  carbonic  acid  gas  (CO2). 
The  proteins,  or  nitrogenous  foods,  are  not  so  completely 
burned  in  the  body.  The  ashes  which  result  from  their 
combustion  are  not  simple  substances  like  the  water  and 
CO2  of  the  carbohydrates.  On  the  other  hand  the  pro- 
tein ash  is  represented  by  a  number  of  complicated  sub- 
stances, some  of  which  are  solid.  When  these  protein  clink- 
ers accumulate  in  the  body,  they  aid  in  causing  many  dis- 
eases, such  as  rheumatism,  gout,  headache,  biliousness,  etc. 
These  protein  ashes  and  clinkers  are  further  acted  upon 
by  the  liver  —  split  up  and  sifted  —  and  are  finally  elimi- 
nated by  the  kidneys  in  the  form  of  urea,  uric  acid,  etc. 
The  body  is  unable  to  store  up  proteins.  When  one  eats 
more  of  this  substance  than  is  daily  required  to  replenish 
the  waste  of  the  body,  it  must  be  immediately  split  up  in 
the  system,  and  its  irritating  ashes  carried  off  by  the  elimi- 
nating organs.  The  overeating  of  sugars,  starches,  or  fats 
is  not  such  a  serious  matter,  as  they  may  be  stored  in  the 
liver  and  subsequently  used;  and  even  if  they  are  eaten  in 
excess  of  what  the  liver  can  care  for,  they  accumulate  as 
fat  or  add  extra  fuel  to  the  fires  of  the  body,  their  ashes 
being  carried  off  in  the  form  of  such  harmless  substances  as 
water  and  carbon  dioxid  (CO2). 

THE   ELEMENTS   OF   NUTRITION 

There  are  seven  elements  entering  into  the  composition 
of  human  food:  Protein,  starch,  sugar,  fat,  salts,  cellulose, 
and  water.  These  elements  are  all  variously  concerned  in 
the  nourishment,  energizing,  and  warming  of  the  body.  Be- 
fore entering  further  upon  the  study  of  metabolism,  it  will 
be  in  place  to  consider  separately  these  food  elements  and 
their  places  in  bodily  nutrition. 

Proteins.    The  proteins  are  the  structure-builders  of  the 


8o  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

body.  Under  certain  circumstances,  a  portion  of  the  pro- 
teins may  be  used  for  fuel,  provided  there  is  either  an  over- 
abundant supply  of  this  food  substance  in  the  blood-stream, 
or  a  lack  of  the  ordinary  fuel  substances,  as  in  case  of 
starvation.  It  is  very  necessary  to  have  the  proper  amount 
of  protein  each  day,  but  an  over-supply  is  highly  injurious 
to  the  body.  It  is  highly  important  that  the  protein  element 
of  the  food  should  be  properly  balanced  in  its  relation  to  the 
non-protein  elements.  While  starches,  fats,  and  sugars  may 
be  compared  to  the  coal  that  feeds  the  locomotive,  the  pro- 
teins represent  the  iron  and  steel  that  are  used  from  time  to 
time  to  repair  the  engine  and  replace  its  worn  parts.  The 
essential  chemical  difference  between  starch  and  protein  is 
that  the  latter  contains  nitrogen  and  a  small  amount  of  sul- 
phur and  phosphorus.  The  most  common  forms  in  which . 
protein  is  used  for  food  are  the  glutens  of  the  grains,  the 
legumes,  nuts,  cheese,  the  white  of  egg,  and  lean  meat. 

There  are  numerous  substances  in  Nature  similar  to  pro- 
tein, but  which  the  human  body  cannot  use  for  food.  These 
substances  are  called  albuminoids  and  are  represented  by 
gelatine,  mushrooms,  as  well  as  a  small  per  cent  of  most 
animal  and  vegetable  proteins. 

Starches.  The  starches  are  the  most  abundant  of  all 
elements  in  human  food.  They  enter  largely  into  the  com- 
position of  nearly  all  plants  and  seeds.  Under  the  influence 
of  the  sunlight,  the  green-colored  plants  gather  up  the  CO2 
of  the  air  and,  with  the  water  absorbed  from  the  ground, 
build  up  starch.  The  plant  takes  all  the  carbon  from  which 
starch  is  made,  from  the  air,  but  while  the  atmosphere  con- 
tains almost  80  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  the  plant  is  unable  to 
use  it.  It  must  secure  its  nitrogen  from  the  decaying  re- 
fuse of  the  soil.  Thus  the  plant  utilizes  the  waste  prod- 
ucts found  in  air  and  earth  in  the  building  of  its  food  sub- 
stances. (When  inoculated  with  certain  germs,  clover  and 
leguminous  plants  are  able  to  appropriate  the  nitrogen  of  the 
atmosphere.) 

Starch  exists  in  the  form  of  small  granules.  Each  little 
starch  granule  is  surrounded  by  a  woody  envelope  of  cel- 
lulose. It  is  necessary  to  cook  all  starches  thoroughly,  in 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  Si  . 

order  to  burst  this  cellulose  covering  and  thus  enable  the 
saliva  to  begin  its  work  of  digestion.  All  the  cereals,  breads, 
breakfast  foods,  legumes,  etc.,  are  about  three-fourths  starch. 

Fruit  sugars.  The  sugar  of  fruits  represents  a  form  of 
food  requiring  no  digestion,  while  the  sugar  found  in  beets, 
the  cane  plant,  and  the  maple  tree,  must  be  acted  upon  by 
the  digestive  juices  of  the  intestine  before  they  can  be  ab- 
sorbed. During  the  winter,  the  maple  tree  stores  its  carbo- 
hydrates in  the  roots  in  the  form  of  starch.  With  the  advent 
of  spring,  Nature  begins  the  digestion  of  this  starch  —  actu- 
ally turns  it  into  sugar, —  and  in  the  form  of  the  sweet  sap,  it 
is  carried  up  into  the  tree  trunk  to  be  deposited  in  the  leaves 
and  bark  in  the  form  of  cellulose,  a  process  very  similar  to 
that  performed  by  digestion  in  the  human  body,  where 
starch  is  first  turned  into  sugar,  and  afterwards  deposited 
in  another  form  in  the  liver  and  muscles. 

Dextrine  is  a  form  of  sugar  resulting  from  thoroughly 
cooking  or  partially  digesting  starch.  There  are  about 
twenty-five  stages  or  forms  of  dextrine  between  raw  starch 
and  digested  starch  or  fruit  sugar.  Dextrine  is  found  in 
the  brown-colored  portions  of  well-toasted  bread.  The 
sweet  flavor  of  the  Zwieback  —  twice  baked  bread  —  is  due 
to  this  form  of  sugar. 

Fats.  Fat  is  a  combination  of  glycerine  and  certain  fatty 
acids.  As  a  food,  it  is  derived  from  both  the  animal  and 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  Animal  fat  consists  of  lard,  suet, 
fat  meat,  etc.,  while  fat  of  animal  origin  is  represented  by 
cream,  butter,  and  eggs.  The  vegetable  fats  are  found  in 
nuts,  especially  the  pecan,  cocoanut,  Brazil,  and  pine  nuts; 
also  in  the  grains,  particularly  oats  and  corn.  The  peanut 
also  contains  a  considerable  amount  of  fat.  Of  the  fruits, 
the  banana  and  strawberry  contain  a  trace  of  fat,  while  the 
olive  is  the  only  fruit  rich  in  fat. 

As  a  food,  fat  is  used  in  three  forms.  The  emulsified 
form  is  represented  by  cream,  olive  oil,  and  nuts.  When 
the  tiny  globules  of  fat,  which  are  each  surrounded  by  a 
little  film  of  casein,  are  crushed  —  united  into  a  solid  mass 
—  we  have  a  free  fat.  This  form  is  represented  by  butter 


82  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

and  other  animal  fats.  Another  form  is  fried  fat  —  fat 
which  has  been  chemically  changed  by  heat  with  the  de- 
velopment of  certain  irritating  acids. 

Mineral  salts.  The  mineral  elements  comprise  but  a 
small  part  of  human  food  as  regards  weight,  but  they  are 
extremely  important  to  the  health  of  the  body.  As  found 
in  the  body,  they  are  not  in  the  form  of  dead  mineral  salts, 
like  common  table  salt ;  the  salts  of  food  are  living  salts  — 
organic  or  organized  salts  such  as  are  found  in  the  growing 
plant.  These  salts  are  of  great  value  to  the  various  fluids 
of  the  body,  and  also  as  stimulants  to  nerve  action,  but  more 
particularly  in  the  work  of  building  up  the  bones. 

The  plants  take  the  dead  mineral  elements  and  organize 
them  into  vegetable  salts,  in  which  form  they  are  suitable 
for  animal  food.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  undertake  to 
nourish  the  body  by  administering  salts  such  as  iron,  phos- 
phorus, and  even  the  ordinary  table  salt  (sodium  chlorid) 
is  of  doubtful  nutritive  value.  These  mineral  salts  may 
serve  a  valuable  purpose  in  the  body  by  protecting  the  more 
important  animal  and  vegetable  salts,  which  would  other- 
wise be  used  up  in  certain  chemical  changes  which  take  place 
in  the  intestines  and  elsewhere  in  the  body. 

Salts  are  found  largely  in  the  cereals.  A  small  amount 
is  also  found  in  vegetables,  particularly  the  potato,  as  well 
as  in  most  fruits. 

Cellulose.  Cellulose  represents  the  great  bulk  of  all  veg- 
etables and  fruits.  It  is  digested  by  most  animals,  but  in 
man  it  is  digested  only  to  the  extent  of  about  30  per 
cent.  The  presence  of  a  large  amount  of  cellulose  in  the 
food  enables  us  often  to  satisfy  the  appetite  without  injury 
from  overeating.  It  serves  to  give  bulk  to  the  food,  and 
thereby  possibly  acts  as  a  preventive  of  constipation.  The 
secretion  of  the  intestinal  juices  and  the  intestinal  move- 
ments are  greatly  favored  by  the  cellulose-bulk  of  the 
food.  Too  much  cellulose  in  the  food  favors  intestinal  fer- 
mentation, as  this  food  element  is  largely  acted  upon  by  the 
germs  which  live  in  the  bowel-tract.  The  principal  part  of 
the  bran  of  wheat  is  cellulose. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  83 

Water.  Water  fills  an  important  place  in  the  nutrition 
of  the  body.  The  food  changes  in  connection  with  diges- 
tion, assimilation,  and  elimination,  can  take  place  only  in 
the  presence  of  water.  Water  constitutes  from  15  to 
95  per  cent  of  the  various  foods.  The  watery  juices  of 
vegetables  and  fruits  consist  largely  of  pure  distilled  water, 
in  which  fruit  sugar  is  dissolved,  with  added  flavoring  sub- 
stances. Water  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  performance 
of  every  vital  function  connected  with  human  metabolism. 

ANIMAL   HEAT 

The  source  of  heat  in  the  animal  body  was  the  subject 
of  much  superstitious  speculation  on  the  part  of  ancient 
scientists.  It  is  now  known  that  animal  heat  is  derived  from 
food  by  means  of  a  peculiar  process  of  vital  oxidation  — 
effected,  in  the  presence  of  oxygen,  by  the  action  of  water 
and  enzymes  upon  the  food  elements  absorbed  by  the  living 
cell.  This  process  of  oxidation  liberates  the  heat  and  energy 
stored  by  the  sun  in  the  food,  and  thus  the  body  is  kept 
warm  by  this  constant  combustion  of  the  digested  foodstuffs. 
The  starches  and  sugars,  together  with  the  fats,  represent 
food  elements  which  serve  as  the  body's  fuel.  By  this 
means,  man  is  able  to  maintain  a  constant  body  temperature 
of  almost  one  hundred  degrees. 

The  average  human  body  produces  enough  heat  every 
hour  to  raise  two  and  one-half  pounds  of  water  from  the 
freezing  point  to  the  boiling  point.  This  is  equivalent  to 
boiling  about  seven  gallons  of  ice-water  every  twenty-four 
hours.  Differently  expressed,  the  body  gives  off  each  hour 
the  same  amount  of  heat  as  a  foot  and  a  half  of  two-inch 
steam  coil.  This  is  the  same  amount  of  heat  which  would 
be  produced  by  burning  about  two-thirds  of  a  pound  of  coal. 
The  body  consumes  itself  at  the  rate  of  one-eightieth  of  its 
weight  every  twenty-four  hours.  In  starvation  death  oc- 
curs when  the  body  has  consumed  one-half  its  weight. 

The  fuel  and  energy  value  of  the  different  food  elements 
(water-free)  is  as  follows: 


84  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

i  gram  of  Carbohydrates    (starch  or   sugar)    4.1  calories  or 

heat  units 

i      "      "     Protein  4.1 

i      "      "    Fat  9.3 

Expressed  in  terms  of  English  weight,  the  fuel  value  of 
the  three  different  food  elements  would  be: 

i  ounce  of  Carbohydrates    127.5  Calories 

I       "       "    Proteins    127.5         " 

i       "       "   Fat    289.2 

It  will  be  observed  that  fat  contains  more  than  twice  as 
much  heat  as  the  carbohydrates.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  fat  contains  more  carbon  than  either  starch  or  sugar. 
Next  to  fats,  starches  and  sugars  are  the  most  important 
fuel  elements.  Protein  is  a  very  extravagant  form  of  food 
for  fuel  purposes.  Proteins  are  the  most  expensive  ele- 
ments of  human  food;  they  are  incompletely  burned  in  the 
body,  and  inasmuch  as  they  leave  behind  distressing  and 
disease-producing  ashes,  it  is  clearly  evident  that  only  a 
sufficient  amount  of  proteins  should  be  eaten  each  day  to 
supply  the  demand  of  the  body  for  repairs.  We  should  de- 
pend upon  the  carbohydrates  and  fats  for  heat  and  energy. 
The  term  calorie,  so  frequently  used  in  expressing  the  fuel 
value  of  foods,  signifies  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  raise 
one  kilogram  of  water  one  degree  centigrade. 

A  large  part  of  our  food  is  required  to  furnish  heat  to 
take  the  place  of  that  lost  by  radiation  from  the  skin,  and 
this  is  why  children  require  more  food  than  adults.  They 
have  a  larger  skin  surface  in  proportion  to  their  weight,  and 
therefore  lose  more  heat  by  radiation. 

DAILY   FOOD   REQUIREMENTS 

It  is  important  that  man  should  have  a  well-balanced 
ration.  That  is,  his  daily  food  should  contain  the  proper 
amount  of  protein  for  the  repair  of  the  tissues,  together  with 
a  suitable  amount  of  starch,  sugar,  and  fat  to  serve  for  the 
production  of  heat  and  energy. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  85 

As  previously  noted,  the  body  is  without  power  to  store 
proteins  if  an  excess  of  this  element  is  eaten.  The  recent 
experiments  of  Professor  Chittenden,  of  Yale  University, 
have  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  majority  of  civilized 
people  are  regularly  eating  more  than  twice  the  amount  of 
protein  required  to  nourish  and  sustain  the  body  in  a  state 
of  health. 

Why  is  it  that  the  majority  of  civilized  men  and  women 
habitually  consume  from  two  to  three  times  the  amount  of 
protein  required  to  replenish  the  broken-down  tissues?  The 
answer  is  found  in  the  fact  that  when  the  human  body  is 
over-fed  on  proteins,  it  acquires  extravagant  habits  in  this 
respect.  It  develops  what  is  known  as  the  "  protein  habit." 
It  learns  how  to  dispose  of  this  excess  of  protein,  and  grows 
so  accustomed  to  the  influence  of  these  nitrogenous  ashes 
and  elements  in  the  circulation,  that  there  is  developed  a 
sort  of  protein  tissue-intoxication.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  also  that  this  extravagant  protein  habit  is  somewhat 
hereditary,  being  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another  among  the  races  which  are  habitually  overfed. 
This  also  explains  why  some  of  the  Oriental  nations  can 
maintain  such  good  health  on  an  extremely  low  protein 
allowance. 

The  low  protein  diet  favors  recovery  from  many  diseases, 
such  as  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  sick  headaches,  biliousness, 
and  many  forms  of  indigestion,  constipation,  etc.  It  also 
increases  the  resistance  of  the  body  to  disease  and  other 
poisonous  influences. 

The  average  man,  weighing  150  pounds,  requires  about 
sixty  grams  (2  ounces)  of  protein  a  day  for  the  proper  sus- 
tenance of  the  body;  that  is,  to  replace  the  tissues  which 
are  worn  out  and  destroyed  by  ordinary  use.  This  is  the 
conclusion  reached  by  Professor  Chittenden  after  long  and 
laborious  experimentation.  He  gives  the  following  table, 
which  represents  the  amount  of  various  foods  which  will 
supply  sixty  grams  (2  ounces)  of  protein,  also  the  num- 
ber of  calories  to  be  found  in  this  amount  of  the  various 
foods : 


86  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

SIXTY    GRAMS    (2    OUNCES)    OF   PROTEIN    ARE   CONTAINED   IN 

Food  Value  * 

One-half  pound  fresh  lean  beef,  loin    308  Calories 

Nine  hen's  eggs    720  " 

Four-fifths  pound  sweetbread  660  " 

Three-fourths  pound  fresh  liver   432  " 

Seven-eighths  pound  lean  smoked  bacon    1820  " 

Three-fourths  pound  halibut  steak   423  " 

One-half  pound  salt  codfish,  boneless  245  " 

Two  and  one-fifth  pounds  oysters,  solid   506  " 

One-half  pound  American  pale  cheese   1027  " 

Four  pounds  whole  milk   (two  quarts)    1300  " 

Five-sixths   pound   uncooked   oatmeal    1550  " 

One  artd  one- fourth  pounds  shredded  wheat 2125  " 

One    pound   uncooked   macaroni    1665  " 

One  and  one-third  pounds  white  wheat  bread 1520  " 

One  and  one- fourth  pounds  crackers 2381  " 

One  and  two-thirds  pounds  flaked  rice    2807  " 

One  and  seven-eighths  pounds  baked  beans  1125  " 

Three-fifths  pound  dried  beans    963  " 

One-half  pound  dried  peas    827  " 

One  and  eleven-twelfths  pounds  potato  chips  ....  5128  " 

Two-thirds   pound   almonds    2020  " 

Two-fifths  pound  pine  nuts,  pignolias 1138 

One  and  two-fifths  pounds  peanuts   3584  " 

Ten  pounds  bananas,  edible  portion  4600  " 

Ten  pounds  grapes    4500  " 

Eleven  pounds  lettuce  990 

Fifteen  pounds  prunes 5550 

Thirty-three   pounds   apples    9570 

The  average  adult  requires  a  daily  food  supply  which  will 
furnish  the  body  with  from  1,500  to  2,500  calories.  The  size 
of  the  individual,  the  season  of  the  year,  the  nature  of  his 
work,  etc.,  are  all  concerned  in  the  amount  of  food  required 
to  furnish  the  heat  and  energy  needed  for  24  hours.  As  a 
general  rule,  the  average  man  or  woman  doing  ordinary  work 
in  ordinary  weather,  will  get  along  nicely  on  a  daily  ration 

*The  fuel  value  of  the  quantity  required  to  furnish  2  ounces 
of  protein. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  87 

which  will  supply  about  2,000  calories.  These  2,000  calories 
should  be  divided  between  the  different  food  elements  about 
as  follows  i 

1.  Proteins:     200  calories  (about  i§  ounces). 

2.  Fats :     700  calories  (about  2§  ounces). 

3.  Carbohydrates     (starch    and    sugar)  :    1,100    calories 

(about  9  ounces). 

To  secure  2,000  calories  as  above  outlined  would  require 
about  13  ounces  of  solid  —  water- free  —  food;  but  as  our 
various  food  substances  contain  from  15  to  90  per  cent  of 
water,  it  will  be  necessary  to  use  from  30  to  40  ounces  of 
ordinary  mixed-diet  foods  to  get  13  ounces  of  real  solid, 
water-free  food  elements.  The  suggestive  bills  of  fare  at 
the  end  of  this  chapter  average  about  24  ounces  or  iJ/2 
pounds  of  food  as  it  appears  on  the  table.  Reference  to 
food  tables  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  will  show  the  num- 
ber of  ounces  of  the  various  foodstuffs  required  to  furnish 
the  desired  number  of  calories  for  the  daily  diet.  Table 
No.  4  gives  a  rough  estimate  of  the  amount  of  food  required 
to  yield  100  calories,  and  will  be  found  of  practical  con- 
venience in  estimating  the  quantity  of  food  eaten. 

Of  the  total  food  supply  about  one-tenth  should  consist 
of  protein;  that  is,  one  part  of  protein  to  about  nine  or  ten 
parts  of  all  the  other  food  elements  —  starches,  sugars,  fats, 
salts,  and  cellulose. 

The  following  general  formula  (after  Gautier)  will  en- 
able any  one  to  find  out  the  number  of  calories  he  should  eat 
every  twenty- four  hours : 

1.  From  your  height  in  inches  subtract  42.    The  remain- 
der, multiplied  by  5,^,  will  give  the  number  of  pounds  you 
should  weigh;  that  is,   the  average  person  of  your  height 
weighs  that  much. 

2.  Your    skin    area    is    determined    by   your    weight   and 
height.     (Average  is  17  sq.   ft.)     The  skin  area  should  be 
multiplied  by  80.     Your  weight    (that  is,  what  you  should 
weigh  according  to  your  height)  is  multiplied  by  4.25.     The 
sum  of  these   two  .  products,  gives  the  number  of  calories 


88  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

you  require  every  24  hours.  For  example:  Take  a  man 
66  inches  in  height  and  weighing  132  pounds,  having  a 
skin  area  of  17  square  feet.  Multiply  the  skin  area,  17  by 
80  equals  1360.  Now,  multiply  his  standard  weight  (ac- 
cording to  height)  132  pounds  by  the  factor  4.25  equals 
561.  Then  add  together  these  two  products,  561  and  1360 
equals  1921,  the  calories  required  every  24  hours. 

Persons  engaged  in  active  muscular  work  require  more 
food  than  the  average  allowance;  for  such  the  weight  of 
the  body  should  be  multiplied  by  the  factor  7  instead  of 
4.25.  In  cold  weather  out-of-door  workmen  may  require 
as  high  as  3,000  calories  a  day  to  sustain  the  body. 

Another  method  of  estimating  the  daily  protein  require- 
ment is  as  follows:  1-80  of  an  ounce  of  protein  is  needed 
for  each  pound  of  body  weight.  This  is  equal  to  il/2  cal- 
ories per  pound  of  body  weight. 

EXPLANATION    OF   FOOD   TABLES 

Table  No.  I  gives  the  age,  height  in  inches,  and  what 
should  be  the  average  weight,  as  well  as  the  skin  surface,  of 
boys  and  girls  from  5  to  12  years  of  age,  and  also  the  num- 
ber of  food  calories  required  to  nourish,  energize,  and  heat 
the  body  for  24  hours,  as  determined  by  the  formula  of  an 
eminent  French  dietitian.  By  referring  to  the  food  tables, 
it  can  be  easily  reckoned  how  much  of  any  kind  of  food,  or 
of  any  sort  of  combination  of  foods,  will  yield  these  re- 
quired calories. 

Table  No.  2  gives  the  height,  weight,  skin  surface,  and 
calories  required  by  men  and  women  —  men  ranging  from 
62  to  74  inches  in  height;  women  from  57  to  72  inches.  In 
this  table  the  daily  calories  are  subdivided  into  three  sep- 
arate columns,  the  daily  requirements  of  proteins,  fats,  and 
carbohydrates  (starch  and  sugar)  being  shown  separately. 
The  body  weights  of  this  table  are  based  on  data  obtained 
in  France,  and  are  probably  a  trifle  low  for  the  average 
American.  A  variation  of  10  to  15  per  cent  must  be  al- 
lowed for  personal  or  family  peculiarities  in  respect  to  flesh 
and  height. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  89 

Table  No.  3  consists  of  sample  menus  —  ten  for  breakfast 
and  ten  for  dinner.  These  suggestive  bills  of  fare  have 
been  arranged  upon  the  plan  of  two  meals  a  day ;  therefore 
about  1,000  calories  are  provided  for  each  meal.  If  three 
meals  a  day  are  eaten,  the  average  person  would  need  to 
subtract  enough  from  these  two  bills  of  fare  to  make  the 
third  meal. 

These  sample  bills  of  fare  are  constructed  after  the  die- 
tetic practices  of  the  middle  classes  and  are  not  designed 
to  represent  the  ideal  of  any  special  system  of  diet,  but 
rather  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  amount  of  the 
various  foods  commonly  eaten  which  will  provide  him  with 
proper  nourishment  for  one  day. 

These  sample  menus  are  constructed  without  flesh  foods 
—  eggs,  nuts,  and  legumes  being  used  in  the  place  of  meat. 
Our  purpose  in  doing  this  is  to  demonstrate  that  wholesome 
meals  can  be  built  out  of  the  common  every-day-used  food- 
stuffs, which  will  be  well  balanced,  highly  nutritious,  simple, 
and  fairly  well  combined,  even  if  meats  are  entirely  dis- 
carded. If  it  is  desired  to  use  any  form  of  flesh  food  in 
these  menus,  it  may  be  substituted  for  the  eggs,  nuts,  or 
legumes,  after  consulting  the  food  tables  contained  in  the 
appendix  to  ascertain  the  amount  equivalent  to  the  calories 
required. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  these  menus  are  technically  correct 
as  regards  absolute  accuracy  in  the  combination  of  proteins, 
fats,  and  carbohydrates,  as  they  are  built  along  the  lines  of 
general  dietetic  practice  —  except  that  eggs,  etc.,  are  sub- 
stituted for  meats  —  the  purpose  being  to  show  how  to  com- 
bine and  how  much  to  use  of  the  ordinary  foods  one  is  ac- 
customed to  eating. 

Table  No.  4  gives  a  list  of  commonly  used  foods,  as  or- 
dinarily prepared  and  served  on  the  table,  with  a  rough  es- 
timate or  measurement  of  a  "  standard  portion,"  that  is,  a 
portion  containing  approximately  100  calories.  This  table 
is  designed  to  be  of  practical  assistance  to  those  who  are 
desirous  of  knowing  just  about  how  many  calories  they  are 
taking  at  any  one  meal. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

TABLE  NO.  I 
DAILY  FOOD  REQUIREMENT 

BOYS 


Skin 

Daily 

Age 

Height  in        Weight  in          Surface  in 

Calories  or 

Years 

Inches             Pounds             Sq.  ft.           Food  Units 

5 

41.57                 41.09                   7.9 

816.2 

6 

43-75                 45-17                   8.3 

855.9 

7 

45-74                 49-07                   8.8 

912.4 

8 

4776                 53-92                   9-4 

981.1 

9 

49.69                 59-23                   9-9 

1043-7 

10 

51.58                 65.30                 10.5 

III7-5 

ii 

53-33                 70.18                 1  1.0 

1178.2 

12 

55.11                 76.92                 1  1.6 

1254-8 

13 

57.21                 84.85                 12.4 

1352.6 

14 

59.88                 94-91                  13.4 

I47L3 

GIRLS 

5 

41.29                 39-66                   7.7 

784.5 

6 

43-35                43-28                  8.1 

831-9 

7 

45.52                47.46                  8.5 

881.7 

8 

47.58                52.04                  9-2 

957-1 

9 

49-37                 57.07                   9-7 

1018.5 

10 

51.34                 62.35                  10.2 

1081.0 

ii 

53.42                 68.84                 10.7 

1148.5 

12 

55-88                 78.31                 i  *  -8 

1276.8 

TABLE  NO.  II 

DAILY  FOOD  REQUIREMENT 

MEN 

Calories  or  Food  Units 

Skin                           > 

Total 

Height 

Weight  in  Surface  in  r                          Carbohy- 

Daily 

in  In. 

Pounds        Sq.ft.       Proteins  Fats       drates 

Calories 

62 

,     1  10.0          15.1          165          378          1132 

1675 

63 

iiS-5           15-6           173          39i           JI75 

1739 

64 

I2I.O              16.2              l8l              407              1222 

1810 

65 

126.5          16.6          190          419          I256 

1865 

66 

132.0          17.0          198          43i          I292 

1921 

67 

137-5          17-4          206          442          1328 

1976 

68 

143.0          17-8          215          454           !363 

2032 

THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 


Skin 

Height  Weight  in  Surface  in 
in  In.      Pounds 

69  148.5 

70  154.0 

71  159-5 

72  165.0 

73  170.5 

74  176.0 


Calories  or  Food  Units 

A 

Carbohy- 
Sq.  ft.      Proteins  Fats     drates 


18.2 

222 

466 

1399 

i8.6 

231 

478 

1433 

18.9 

239 

487 

1463 

19-3 

247 

499 

1499 

19.7 

255 

5" 

1534 

2O.2 

264 

525 

1575 

WOMEN 


Total 

Daily 

Calories 

2087 
2142 
2189 
2245 
2300 
2364 


57 

78.4 

11.9 

118 

278 

833 

1229 

58 

83.6 

12.5 

125 

308 

922 

1355 

59 

88.8 

12.9 

132 

3i9 

958 

1409 

60 

94.1 

13-4 

141 

335 

1005 

1481 

61 

99-2 

13-9 

149 

349 

1045 

1543 

62 

104.5 

14.4 

156 

360 

1080 

1596 

63 

109.3 

15.0 

163 

375 

1126 

1664 

64 

1  15-0 

15.6 

172 

391 

"74 

1737 

65 

120.2 

16.0 

180 

402  . 

1208 

1790 

66 

125.4 

16.5 

187 

416 

1249 

1852 

67 

130.7 

16.9 

195 

428 

1283 

1906 

68 

137-0 

17.4 

205 

442 

1327 

1974 

69 

143-0 

17.8 

215 

454 

1363 

2032 

70 

149.0 

18.2 

223 

467 

1399 

2089 

71 

155-0 

18.6 

232 

479 

1436 

2147 

72 

161.0 

19.0 

241 

491 

1472 

2204 

TABLE  NO.   Ill 
SUGGESTIVE  BILLS  OF  FARE 

(For  one  person,  two  meals  a  day.) 

These  menus  are  designed  to  furnish  about  1,000  calories 
for  each  meal  —  2,000  calories  every  twenty- four  hours. 
This  plan  is  based  on  the  practice  of  two  meals  a  day. 
Sedentary  and  inactive  persons  will  do  well  on  1,500  calories 
a  day,  and  therefore  would  reduce  the  quantity  of  these  bills 
of  fare  about  25  per  cent.  The  author,  during  the  period 
of  writing  this  book,  did  his  customary  professional  and 
lecture  work,  and  gained  slightly  in  weight  on  less  than 
2,000  calories  a  day.  Individuals  weighing  over  165  pounds 


92  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

and  engaged  in  active  out-of-door  physical  labor  —  especially 
during  the  winter  —  would  often  need  to  increase  these 
menus  by  the  addition  of  500  calories,  or  about  25  per 
cent. 

Many  of  these  menus  contain  a  greater  variety  than  the 
author  is  in  the  habit  of  consuming  at  a  single  meal,  but 
they  probably  represent  as  small  a  variety  as  the  average  in- 
dividual will  be  well  satisfied  with.  The  ounces  and  cal- 
ories are  given  in  whole  numbers,  and  the  rough  estimate 
of  "  portions  "  is  given  in  approximate  terms.  These  bills 
of  fare  are  intended  for  practical  use  in  the  kitchen  and 
dining  room  and  while  they  are  relatively  correct,  they  are 
not  technically  precise.  All  the  menus  are  planned  to  run  a 
little  over  1,000  calories  in  order  to  allow  for  a  five  or  ten 
per  cent  waste  —  food  not  eaten.  The  amounts  here  given 
are  for  one  person.  For  two  or  three  persons  these  amounts 
may  be  doubled  or  trebled. 


BREAKFAST     MENUS 


Breakfast   No.    i.          Ounces. 

Apples    5 

Bananas   3 

Graham    mush    with    dates  5 

Cream     3 

Dried  peas  puree   4 

Zwieback    ;  3 

Butter  y2 

Celery    5 


Total  

Breakfast  No.   2. 

Grape    fruit   with   sugar    .  4 

Cornmeal   mush,   baked    . .  4 

Maple   syrup    2 

Creamed   potatoes    5 

Cottage   cheese    3 

Bread    4 

Butter  .  i/ 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated.  Calories. 

Large  apple  100 

One  banana  100 

One  serving  100 

H  glass  200 

One  serving  100 

Three  slices  300 

One  square  100 

Three  stalks  25 


Total 


1,025 


^  grape   fruit   100 

One   serving    100 

Six    teaspoonfuls    150 

Two  small  servings   ....  200 

Four   cubic   inches    100 

Three  thick  slices  300 

One  square   100 


Total 


Total    1,050 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 


93 


Breakfast  No.  3.  Ounces 

Oranges   5 

Scrambled   eggs    5 

Potato  cakes    3 

Stewed   raisins 3 

Milk    4 

Bread    4 

Butter  l/2 


Total  

Breakfast  No.  4. 

Grape  fruit  with  sugar   . .  4 

Toasted  corn  flakes   3 

Cream     4 

Stewed   corn    6 

Pecan  nuts  I 

Whole  wheat  puffs   i 

Butter l/2 

Total    19^/2 

Breakfast  No.  5. 

Oranges   5 

Egg   omelet    5 

Baked    potatoes    6 

Oatmeal  mush   7 

Cream    I 

Bread    4 

Butter  l/2 


Total 
Breakfast  No.  6. 

Fresh    peaches    6 

Asparagus   on   toast    4 

Hot   milk    4 

Crackers  I 

Corn   bread    3 

Butter  Y-i 

Mixed   nuts    I 

Ripe  olives   2 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated.  Calories. 

One  large  100 

Two  eggs  200 

Two  small  cakes 100 

One  serving  200 

One  glass  100 

Three  slices  300 

One  square  100 


Total    1,100 

Y2  grape   fruit    100 

Three    servings    300 

One   small   glass    300 

Two  servings   100 

Fifteen    nuts     200 

Three   puffs    100 

One  square   100 


Total    1,200 

One  large 100 

Two  eggs  200 

Two  average  150 

iY2  serving   100 

*A   glass    100 

Three   slices    300 

One    square    100 


Total 


1,050 


Three   ordinary    100 

One  piece  150 

One   glass    100 

Three  large  square     ....  150 

Two  squares  200 

One  square   100 

Ten  assorted  200 

Seven  olives   .  too 


Total 


Total    1,100 


94 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


Breakfast  No.  7.  Ounces 

Fresh   pears    .............  5 

Wheat  flakes   ............  2 

Cream  ...................  i 

Soft  boiled  eggs    ........  4 

Bread    ...................  3 

Butter  ...................  l/2 

Baked    apples    ...........  3 

Total  ................ 

Breakfast  No.  8. 

Sliced    pineapple    ........ 

Poached   eggs    ........... 

Baked    potatoes    ......... 

Corn    puffs    ............. 

Butter  ................... 

Stewed   prunes    .......... 

Whipped   cream    ......... 

Cereal    coffee,    sugar    and 
cream    ................. 

Total 

Breakfast  No.  9. 
Bananas 
Blueberry    toast 
Poached   eggs 
Baked    potatoes 
Corn  puffs    ....... 

Butter  ...............  . 

Milk 

Total 


Breakfast  No.   10. 
Cantaloupe 
Cream  toast 
Rice    flakes 
Cream 

Steamed    figs 
Bread 
Butter 
Total 


8 
3 
2 
i 
4 
i 
54 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated.  Calories. 

One   large    .............  100 

Two  servings   ..........  200 

*A   glass    ...............  100 

Two   eggs    .............  200 

Two  slices  .............  200 

One  square    ............  100 

One  large  apple  ........  100 

Total  ..............  1,000 

One   serving   ...........  50 

Two   eggs    .............  200 

One  large  ..............  100 

Five   puffs    .............  200 

One  square   ............  100 

Six  prunes  .............  100 

One  large   serving   .....  100 

One   large   cup    ........  100 

Total    .............  950 

One  large  ..............  100 

One  slice   ..............  150 

Two   eggs    .............  200 

One  large    .............  100 

Five   puffs    .............  200 

One    square    ...........  100 

One   glass    .............  100 

Total   ..............  950 


y2    average    ........  •'....  100 

One   piece    .............  150 

Two    servings    .........  200 

J4   glass    ...............  loo 

Four    average    ........  :  300 

One    slice    .............  too 

y2    square    .............  50 

Total    .............  .  1,000 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 


95 


DINNER    MENUS 


Dinner  No.  I.  Ounces 

Dried  peas  puree   ........  4 

Creamed   potatoes    .......  6 

Cauliflower   ..............  3 

Toasted    bread    ..........  3 

Butter  ...................  y2 

Lettuce    salad    ...........  4 

Mayonnaise  dressing  .....  I 

Apple    pie     ..............  3 

Total  .............  . 


Dinner  No.  2. 

Soup,    tomato-vermicelli    .  3 

Egg   omelet    .............  5 

Baked  potatoes   ..........  6 

String   beans    .......  .....  4 

Whole  wheat  puffs   ......  2 

Butter  ...................  Vi 

Beet   salad    ..............  3 

Apple   tart   dessert    ......  3 

Sponge   cake    ............  2 

Total  ...............  ."28^? 

Dinner  No.  3. 

Lentil   savory   roast    .....  3 

Tomato   macaroni    .......  7 

Corn  puffs    ..............  3 

Butter  ...................  l/2 

Celery    ..................  5 

Pecan    nuts    .............  \l/2 

Custard   pie    .............  3 

Total   ...............  .  23 

Dinner  No.  4. 

Cream  of  rice  soup   .....  5 

Steamed       potatoes       and 

gravy    .................  6 

Cottage  cheese  ...........  3 

Spinach    .................  4 

Fruit  buns    ..............  3 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated  Calories 

One   serving    100 

Two  large  servings   ....  300 

One   serving    25 

Three  slices  300 

One    square    100 

Two  servings   25 

Ordinary   serving    50 

One   piece    250 

Total    1,150 

One  plate  50 

Two   eggs    200 

Two  average  150 

Two    servings    50 

Six  puffs    .  .* 200 

One  square   100 

One   serving    50 

One   apple    100 

One  small  piece    100 

Total    1,000 

One   serving    100 

Two  servings    200 

Five   puffs    200 

One  square   100 

Three  stalks   25 

Twenty    nuts    300 

One   piece    250 

Total    1,175 

^. 

Ordinary  plate   100 

One   serving    150 

Four  cubic  inches  100 

One    serving    50 

Two   buns    300 


96 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


Dinner  No.   .   (continued). 

Ounces 
Butter    ..................     J4 

Ripe  olives   ..............     3 

Tapioca    pudding     .......     3 

Total     ..............  .271/4 

Dinner  No.  5. 

Sliced    protose    ..........  4 

Fresh   tomatoes,   sliced    .  .  4 
Whole      wheat      crackers 

toasted   ..  ...............  3 

Peanut  butter    ...........  */2 

Fresh  peaches,  sliced   ....  5 

Blanched  almonds   .......  I 

Unfermented    grape    juice  4 

Total 


Dinner  No.  6. 

Cream  of  corn  soup    ....  5 

Protose  steak  ............  4 

Mashed   potatoes    ........  6 

Graham    bread    ..........  4 

Butter  ................... 

Nut  and  fruit  salad  ......  3 

Bread    pudding    .........  3 

Total 


Dinner  No.  7. 

Sweet   potatoes,   baked    .  .  5 

Stewed  lima  beans   ......  4 

Fresh   tomatoes,    sliced    .  .  7 

Graham    gems    ..........  3 

Butter  ...................  ^ 

Rice    pudding    with    fruit 

Jelly    ..................  3 

Layer  cake   ..............  3 

Total  ..............  ..2S1A 

Dinner  No.  8. 

Vegetable  soup   ..........  5 

Baked  beans    ............  5 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated  Calories 

One-half  square  50 

Ten  large  150 

One  serving  100 

Total  1,000 


Two    slices    200 

One    tomato    25 

Eight  square  400 

One   serving    75 

Two  peaches  75 

Fifteen  nuts    200 

One   glass    100 

Total    1,075 

Ordinary  plate   100 

Two  slices   200 

Two    servings    200 

Three   slices    300 

One  square   100 

One   dish    125 

Small  dish  125 

Total    1,150 

Two  large   250 

One   serving    100 

Two   tomatoes    50 

Five    gems    200 

One  square   100 

One   dish    150 

One   piece    200 

Total    1,050 


One  plate  50 

One   serving   200 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 


97 


Dinner  No.  8  (continued). 
Ounces 

Corn  bread  5 

Butter  y> 

Buttermilk    4 

Cabbage  salad   6 

Pumpkin   pie   3 

Total'    ..28y2 

Dinner  No.  9. 

Baked  potatoes   8 

Brown  gravy  3 

Poached   eggs    4 

Bread,   white    4 

Butter y2 

Fresh   apples    5 

Total    ..2414 

Dinner  No.  10. 

Boiled  or  steamed  rice   . .     4 

Fresh  asparagus  (creamed)     4 

Bread    4 

Butter    y2 

Mixed  nuts  2 

Fruit  salad  5 

Total 


"  Portion  " 

Estimated  Calories 

Three  squares  300 

One  square  100 

One  large  glass  75 

Two  servings  50 

One  piece  250 

Total  1,025 

Two  large  200 

Two  servings   50 

Two  eggs  200 

Three   slices    300 

One  square   100 

Two  average 150 

Total   1,000 

One  cereal  dish   100 

One  large  serving ; .  100 

Three   slices    300 

One    square    100 

Twenty  nuts  400 

Large  serving 50 

Total    1,050 


FOOD  TABLE  NO.  IV 

TABLE  OF  COMMONLY  USED  FOODS,  GIVING  ROUGH 
ESTIMATE  OR  MEASUREMENT  OF  A  "STANDARD 
PORTION,"  THAT  IS,  A  PORTION  CONTAINING  100 
CALORIES 


Name  of   Food 

"  Portions  "     containing     100 
Calories     roughly     described. 

CEREALS 

Bread,  brown  or  graham    Ordinary  thick  slice 

Bread,  corn   Small   square. 

Bread,  home  made    Ordinary  slice. 

Bread,  white  or  whole  wheat   .  ..Ordinary  thick  slice. 

Corn  flakes,  toasted    One  ordinary  cereal  dish  full 

(level). 


98  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


,   „  Portions        containing     100 

Name  of   Food        .  ^  . 

Calories     roughly     described. 


CEREALS  (continued) 

Cornmeal  mush   One  large  serving. 

Cornstarch  One  ordinary  serving. 

Crackers,  graham  or  white 

(square)    Two  large  square  crackers. 

Crackers,  oatmeal  (square)     ....Two  large  square  crackers. 
Crackers,  ordinary  soda  (round)   Eight  round  crackers. 

Cracked  wheat  One  serving. 

Farina   One  serving. 

Graham  gems  or  puffs  Three  gems  or  puffs. 

Granose  biscuits  Three  biscuits. 

Hominy,   cooked    Large  serving. 

Macaroni,  cooked   Ordinary  serving. 

Oatmeal  mush One  and  one-half  serving. 

Rice,  boiled    Ordinary  cereal  dish. 

Rice  flakes  Ordinary  cereal  dish. 

Rice,  puffed  Two  servings. 

Rolls,  Vienna One  large  roll. 

Shredded  wheat  One  biscuit. 

Wheat  flakes,  toasted   One  large  serving. 

Zwieback One  thick  slice. 

FRUITS 

Apple  juice    One  large  glass. 

Apple  sauce  Ordinary  serving. 

Apples,   fresh  or  baked   Two  small  or  one  very  large. 

Apricots,  cooked   Large  serving. 

Bananas    One  large 

Blackberries,    fresh     Two  servings. 

Blackberry  juice    One  large  glass. 

Blackberry  sauce   One  serving. 

Blueberry  juice    Two  small  glasses. 

Blueberry  sauce   One  large  serving. 

Cantaloupe   Half  ordinary  serving. 

Cherries,    fresh    Two  servings. 

Cherry   sauce    One  serving. 

Cranberry   sauce    One  serving. 

Dates   Four  large. 

Figs'  One  large. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  99 


-T  Portions       containing     100 

Name  of  Food  ~  ,     .  , ,       .       .,    , 

Calories    roughly    described. 


FRUITS  (continued) 

Fruit  jelly  One  ordinary  serving. 

Grape  juice    One  small  glass. 

Grape  fruit  (with  sugar)     One-half  grape  fruit. 

Grapes,  fresh   One  average  bunch. 

Lemonade Two  small  glasses. 

Olive  oil   One  tablespoonf ul. 

Olives,  ripe    Seven  average  olives. 

Orange  juice  One  large  glass. 

Oranges    One  very  large. 

Peach  juice   One  ordinary  glass. 

Peach  sauce    Ordinary  serving. 

Peaches    Three  ordinary. 

Pear  juice    One  large  glass. 

Pear  sauce  Ordinary  serving. 

Pears  One  large. 

Pineapple  sauce  Two  servings. 

Plum  sauce  One  ordinary  serving. 

Plums,    fresh Three  large  (California). 

Prune  marmalade   Four  tablespoonf uls. 

Prune  sauce    » Six  large  prunes. 

Prunes,  dried   Three  large. 

Raisins,  stewed   One  half  ordinary  serving. 

Raspberries,    fresh    Two  servings. 

Raspberry  juice   One  large   glass. 

Raspberry  sauce    One  ordinary  serving. 

Strawberries,   fresh    One     serving      (sugar     and 

cream). 

Strawberries,  raw  Two  servings. 

Strawberry   sauce One  serving. 

Tomatoes,  breaded    Two  servings. 

Tomatoes,  canned   Four  servings. 

Tomatoes,  raw   Four  average    (three   large). 

Watermelon    One  ordinary  piece. 

NUTS 

Almonds  About  eight. 

Brazil   nuts    Three  ordinary  size. 

Chestnuts   About  twelve. 


100  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


.  _  Portions       containing     100 

Name  of  Food  _  .     .  ,  .        ,        ... 

Calories     roughly    described. 

NUTS  (continued) 

Cocoanut,   prepared    Ordinary  serving. 

Filberts    Ten  nuts. 

Hickory  nuts  (large)   About  ten. 

Pecans  About  eight. 

Pine  nuts   About  eighty. 

Walnuts,   English    About  six. 


VEGETABLES. 
Asparagus,  cooked,  creamed   . . .  .One  serving. 

Beans,  baked A  small  side  dish. 

Beans,  Lima,  green   One  large  serving. 

Beans,  string  Five  servings. 

Beets    Three  servings. 

Cabbage,  boiled    Four  servings. 

Cabbage  slaw  (cream  or  lemon). Three  servings. 

Carrots,  creamed  Two  servings. 

Cauliflower,   boiled   Four  servings. 

Celery,  raw   About  twelve  average  stalks. 

Corn,  sweet,  stewed   One  ordinary  serving. 

Cucumber,  raw,  sliced  Five  servings. 

Egg  plant,   fried    Three  servings. 

Greens,  dandelion  (lemon  juice). Two  large  servings. 

Lettuce,  salad   Five  or  six  servings. 

Onions,   cooked    Two  large  servings. 

Parsnips    Two  servings. 

Peas,  green,  creamed  One  serving. 

Peas,  green,  plain    Two  servings. 

Potatoes,  baked    One  good  size. 

Potatoes,  boiled    One  large  size. 

Potatoes,  mashed,  creamed   One  small  serving. 

Potatoes,  steamed    One  ordinary  serving. 

Potatoes,  sweet,  boiled  or  baked. One  medium  potato. 

Pumpkin,  cooked   Two  large  servings 

Spinach,  cooked   Two  ordinary  servings. 

Squash,   cooked    Two  ordinary  servings. 

Succotash,  canned  One  large  serving. 

Turnips   Three  ordinary  servings. 

Vegetable  oysters,  stewed   Four  servings. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY 


101 


Name  of   Food 


"  Portions "     containing     100 
Calories     roughly    described. 


FLESH  FOODS 

Beef,  boiled  (average  lean)     Large  serving. 

Beef,  boiled  (average  fat)     ....; Small  serving. 

Beef,  loin  (fat)    Small  serving. 

Beef,  loin  (lean)     Ordinary  serving. 

Beef,  porterhouse  steak    Very  small  steak. 

Beef,  ribs,  boiled  Small  serving. 

Beef,  sirloin  steak Very  small  steak 

Chicken  (broilers)    Large  serving. 

Chicken,  canned  Two  thin  slices. 

Goose    (young)    Half  serving. 

Halibut  steak   Ordinary  serving. 

Lamb  chops,  broiled   One  small  chop. 

Lamb,  leg,  roast Ordinary  serving. 

Mutton,  leg,  boiled   Large   serving. 

Oysters,  raw   One  dozen. 

Pork,  bacon,  smoked    Small  serving. 

Pork  chops,  cooked    Small  chop. 

Pork,  ham,  boiled  (fat)    Small  serving. 

Pork,  ham,  roasted  (lean)   Small  serving. 

Rabbit,  cooked   ' Small  serving. 

Salmon    Small  serving. 

Trout  (brook)   Two  small  servings. 

Turkey    Two  small  servings. 

Veal,  leg,  boiled   Large  serving. 

White  fish,  broiled   Large  serving. 

ANIMAL  PRODUCTS 

Butter,  creamery  One  ordinary  square  or  ball. 

Buttermilk    One  and  one-half  glasses. 

Cheese,  American,  pale  One  and  one-half  cubic  inches. 

Cheese,  cottage    Four  cubic  inches. 

Cheese,  full  cream    One  and  one-half  cubic  inches. 

Cream    One- fourth  ordinary  glass. 

Eggs,  boiled    One  extra  large  egg. 

Eggs,  large,  whites  Two  whites. 

Eggs,  large,  yolks  Two  yolks. 

Milk,  skimmed   One  and  one-half  glasses. 

Milk,  whole  One  small  glass. 

Whey  Two  large  glasses. 


102  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


,  ~  ^  Portions       containing     100 

Name  of  rood  /-  i    •  •.    j 

Calories     roughly    described. 


LEGUMES 

Beans,  baked    Small  side  dish. 

Beans,  Lima,  canned Large  side  dish. 

Lentils,   baked    One  serving. 

Peas,  dried,  cooked  One  large  serving. 

Peanut  butter    One  serving  (little  more  than 

dairy  butter). 
Peanuts  Thirteen  double. 

MISCELLANEOUS  AND  COOKED  FOODS 

Cake,  chocolate  layer  Half   ordinary   square   piece. 

Cake,  gingerbread  Half   ordinary   square   piece. 

Cake,  sponge  Small  piece. 

Cereal  coffee,  sugar  and  cream  .  One  cup. 

Cocoa,  sugar  and  cream  One  cup. 

Custard,  milk    Ordinary  cup. 

Custard,  tapioca  Two-thirds  ordinary  serving. 

Doughnuts  Half  a  doughnut. 

Honey   '. . .  .Four  teaspoonfuls. 

Malted  milk   Two-thirds  glass. 

Maple  syrup   Four  teaspoonfuls. 

Pie,  apple  One-third  ordinary  piece. 

Pie,  cream    One- fourth  ordinary  piece. 

Pie,  custard  One-third  ordinary  piece. 

Pie,  lemon  One-third  ordinary  piece. 

Pie,  pumpkin    One-third  ordinary  piece. 

Protose One  serving. 

Pudding,  apple  tapioca    Small  serving. 

Pudding,  brown  betty    Half  ordinary  serving. 

Pudding,  cornmeal .Half  ordinary  serving. 

Pudding,  cream  rice Very  small  serving. 

Salad,  beet  Two  servings. 

Salad,  mixed  fruit  Two  or  three  servings. 

Salad,  potato  One   large   serving. 

Soup,  bean  Very  large  plate. 

Soup,  cream  of  celery  Two  plates. 

Soup,  cream  of  potato    Ordinary  plate. 

Soup,  creamed  corn   Ordinary  plate. 

Soup,  vegetable    Two  plates. 


THE  NUTRITION  OF  THE  BODY  103 


"  Portions "     containing     100 
Calories     roughly    described. 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND  COOKED  FOODS  (continued) 

Sugar,  granulated Three  teaspoonfuls. 

Sugar,  maple  Four  teaspoonfuls. 

Tapioca,    cooked    Ordinary   serving. 

Toast,  blueberry    Ordinary  serving. 

Toast,  cream  Two-thirds  ordinary  serving. 

Toast,  fruit    Ordinary  serving. 

Toast,  gravy    Two-thirds  ordinary  serving. 

Toast,  snowflake    Two-thirds  ordinary  serving. 

Toast,  tomato   Ordinary  serving. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  STUDY  OF  FOODS 

THE  CEREALS. —  BARLEY. —  BUCKWHEAT. —  FERMENTED  BREADS. — 
UNFERMENTED  BREADS. —  CRACKERS. —  CORN  OR  MAIZE. —  CORN- 
STARCH. —  THE  COOKING  OF  CORN. —  MACARONI. —  OATS. —  RYE. — 
RICE. —  SAGO  OR  TAPIOCA. —  WHEAT. —  FLOUR. —  THE  COOKING  OF 
STARCHES. —  FRUITS. —  APPLES. —  APRICOTS. —  THE  BERRIES. — 
CHERRIES. —  CRANBERRIES. —  THE  CANTALOUPE  OR  MUSKMELON. 

—  DATES. —  FIGS. —  FRUIT  JELLIES. —  LEMONS  AND  GRAPE  FRUIT. 

—  GRAPES. —  NECTARINES. —  OLIVES   AND   OLIVE   OIL. —  ORANGES. 

—  PEACHES  AND  PEARS. —  THE  PINEAPPLE. —  PLUMS. —  RAISINS. 

—  STRAWBERRIES. —  TOMATOES. —  THE   WATERMELON. —  NUTS. — 
ALMONDS  AND  BEECHNUTS. —  BRAZIL  NUTS  AND  BUTTERNUTS. — 
THE  COCOANUT. —  THE  CHESTNUT. —  FILBERTS  OR  HAZEL  NUTS. — 
HICKORY  NUTS. —  PECANS. —  PEANUTS. —  PINE  NUTS  OR  PIGNO- 
LIAS. —  WALNUTS. —  THE     VEGETABLES. —  ASPARAGUS. —  STRING 
BEANS. —  BEETS. —  CABBAGE. —  CARROTS,  PARSNIPS,  AND  TURNIPS. 

—  CAULIFLOWER. —   CELERY. —   CUCUMBERS. —   GREEN      CORN. — 
GREENS. —  EGG     PLANT. —  LETTUCE. —  ONIONS. —  GREEN     PEAS. — 
PUMPKINS  AND  SQUASHES. —  THE  IRISH  POTATO. —  THE  RADISH. 

—  THE  SWEET  POTATO. —  THE  VEGETABLE  OYSTER,  OR  SALSIFY. — 
FLESH  FOODS. —  BEEF  FLESH. —  BEEF  TEA  AND  BEEF  EXTRACT. — 
POULTRY. —  FISH. —  MUTTON. —  OYSTERS. —  PORK. —  RABBITS. — 
VENISON. —   ANIMAL      PRODUCTS. —   BUTTER. —   BUTTERMILK. — 
CREAM. —  CHEESE. —  EGGS. —  MILK. —  THE    LEGUMES. —  DRIED 
BEANS. —  LENTILS. —  PEAS. —  THE    PEANUT. —  VARIOUS    COMMON 
FOODS. 

AT  the  back  of  this  book  will  be  found  complete  food 
tables,    giving    the    composition,    caloric    value,    total 
nutritive   value,    the   proportion    of   protein    to    non-protein 
elements,  the  average  time  required  for  stomach  digestion, 
etc.,  of  all  food  substances  commonly  used  by  man. 

Our  purpose  here   will  be  to  study   food   substances  by 
groups.     The  average  man  has  but  a  meagre  idea  of  the 

104 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  105 

real  nutritive  value  and  chemical  nature  of  the  food  he  eats. 
Perverted  taste  and  pleasure  enter  more  largely  into  the 
selection  of  the  diet  than  science  and  reason.  Some  foods 
which  are  commonly  supposed  to  be  very  nourishing,  a  ref- 
erence to  the  food  tables  will  show  are  but  moderately  so, 
while  other  foods  thought  to  be  of  little  value,  will  be  found 
highly  nourishing  and  rich  in  fuel  energy. 

The  study  of  the  food  tables  found  in  the  appendix,  in 
connection  with  the  facts  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapter 
on  Nutrition,  will  furnish  a  thorough  and  scientific  basis  for 
the  proper  understanding  and  successful  regulation  of  one's 
diet*  As  will  be  noted,  our  tables  cover  both  cooked  foods 
and  raw  or  uncooked  food  substances,  the  last  section  being 
devoted  to  miscellaneous  cooked  foods,  such  as  cakes,  pies, 
desserts,  puddings,  etc.,  as  well  as  soups  and  salads.  An 
earnest  effort  has  been  made  to  make  these  tables  complete 
and  reliable,  and  it  is  thought  they  will  yield  all  the  infor- 
mation desired  concerning  either  raw  or  cooked  foodstuffs. 

Outside  of  special  cooked  dishes,  foodstuffs  may  be  di- 
vided into  seven  great  classes,  which  are  here  named  in  the 
order  of  their  consideration  in  this  chapter: 

1.  Cereals. 

2.  Fruits. 

3.  Nuts. 

4.  Vegetables. 

'  5.  Flesh  foods. 

6.  Animal  products. 

7.  Legumes. 

THE   CEREALS 

The  cereals  or  grains  represent  the  seeds  of  various  plants 
which  are  used  for  human  food.  This  group  includes  the 
various  flours  and  meals,  together  with  other  direct  prod- 
ucts in  the  form  of  bread,  crackers,  and  special  prepared 
foods.  The  cereals  are  about  three-fourths  starch,  con- 
taining a  small  amount  of  protein,  enough  to  make  a  fairly 
well-balanced  food,  as  the  proportion  of  the  protein  and 
non-protein  elements  runs  from  about  i  to  7  down  to 


106  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

i  to  10.  This  is  the  desired  proportion  for  a  balanced 
food.  The  cereals  are  fairly  rich  in  salts.  Some  of  the 
whole  grains  contain  a  small  amount  of  cellulose ;  but  as  a 
class,  they  are  deficient  in  fats,  with  the  exception  of  corn 
and  oats,  which  contain  two  or  three  times  as  much  fat  as 
the  other  cereals. 

BARLEY 

In  composition,  barley  conforms  to  the  general  order  of 
cereals,  except  that  in  nutritive  value  it  is  slightly  inferior 
to  wheat.  Its  gluten  is  also  a  little  more  difficult  of  diges- 
tion. Barley  flour,  owing  to  its  inferior  gluten,  is  not  good 
for  bread  purposes  unless  mixed  with  wheat  flour.  This 
cereal  is  more  largely  used  in  the  form  of  pearl  barley  — 
the  whole  grain  with  its  outer  husk  very  largely  removed. 
These  barley  products  require  to  be  cooked  from  four  to 
five  hours  in  a  double  boiler,  unless  they  have  been  pre- 
viously soaked.  Barley  will  probably  never  come  to  take  a 
prominent  place  among  food  substances  used  by  man. 

BUCKWHEAT 

The  popular  prejudice  against  buckwheat  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  usually  served  in  the  form  of  pastry  or  half-cooked 
buckwheat  cakes,  which  are  rendered  still  more  difficult  of 
digestion  by  the  addition  of  melted  butter  and  syrup.  Buck- 
wheat flour  in  itself  is  very  similar  to  the  other  cereal  flours, 
except  that  it  is  slightly  deficient  in  protein  and  salts  and 
contains  but  a  moderate  amount  of  fat. 

FERMENTED  BREADS 

Entire  wheat  flour  possesses  many  advantages  over  the 
other  flours,  and  bread  made  from  such  flour  constitutes  a 
perfectly  combined  food  with  the  exception  of  its  deficiency 
in  fat.  This,  however,  is  more  than  atoned  for  by  the  addi- 
tion of  butter  to  the  bread  when  it  is  eaten.  Whole  wheat 
bread  contains  more  gluten  and  salts  than  any  other  form  of 
bread,  and  also  more  of  the  cellulose,  which  is  supposed  to 
encourage  the  action  of  the  bowels. 

Graham  bread  resembles  whole  wheat  bread,  except  that  a 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  107 

portion  of  the  cellulose  is  removed.  While  these  breads  are 
very  wholesome,  they  are  irritating  to  some  delicate  stom- 
achs. Ordinary  white  bread,  made  from  the  patent  process 
flour,  is  very  good  and  much  superior  to  the  bread  made 
from  the  fine  white  flours,  which  are  deficient  in  protein  and 
salts.  The  modern  roller  process  of  producing  patent  flour, 
preserves  much  of  the  gluten  and  salts. 

Salt-rising  bread,  fruit  bread,  etc.,  conform  largely  to  the 
general  order  of  fermented  breads.  Hot  biscuits  and  fresh 
breads  are  very  difficult  of  digestion.  They  should  either 
be  cut  in  slices  and  toasted  in  the  oven,  or  allowed  to  stand 
for  twenty-four  hours  before  they  are  eaten. 

Zwieback  represents  the  most  wholesome  form  in  which 
fermented  bread  can  be  used.  It  is  twice-baked,  or  thor- 
oughly prepared  toast. 

UNFERMENTED   BREADS 

Unfermented  breads  undoubtedly  represent  the  ideal  bread 
stuff.  Their  hardness  favors  thorough  mastication,  and  the 
absence  of  the  yeast  and  the  tendency  toward  moisture  and 
sogginess  greatly  lessens  the  likelihood  of  fermentation  in 
the  stomach.  The  unfermented  breads,  of  course,  pound  for 
pound,  are  more  nutritious  than  the  fermented,  as  they  con- 
tain less  water. 

CRACKERS 

Crackers  are  a  form  of  bread.  They  are  quite  high  in 
nutritive  value,  as  they  are  baked  in  an  oven  and  contain  less 
water  than  ordinary  breadstuffs.  They  conform  to  the  gen- 
eral composition  of  breads  made  from  the  corresponding 
flours.  The  only  objection  to  be  urged  against  them  is  that 
of  the  chemicals  used  in  their  manufacture,  such  as  soda, 
baking  powder,  etc.,  which  detract  much  from  their  whole- 
someness. 

CORN    OR   MAIZE 

Corn  contains  almost  as  much  protein  as  wheat,  while  it 
contains  more  than  twice  as  much  fat.  In  salts,  it  runs 
about  the  same  as  the  other  cereals;  in  cellulose,  a  little 


108  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

below.  Corn  may  be  eaten  parched,  but  is  commonly  used 
in  the  form  of  hominy,  which  is  quite  difficult  of  digestion. 
The  modern  products  of  toasted  corn  flakes  are  very  easy 
of  digestion,  and  represent  a  triumph  of  science  in  the 
preparation  of  cereal  foods. 

Cornstarch  is  a  preparation  of  pure  starch  made  from 
corn.  Cornmeal  represents  a  very  highly  nutritious,  well- 
balanced  food.  In  the  form  of  cornmeal  mush,  it  is  quite 
difficult  of  digestion,  but  if  the  mush  is  cut  in  thin  slices, 
covered  with  bread  or  cracker  crumbs,  and  baked  in  an  oven, 
it  constitutes  a  wholesome  food,  fairly  easy  of  digestion. 
Corn  bread  is  a  very  nutritious  food,  especially  if  it  is  not 
spoiled  by  the  addition  of  an  excess  of  soda,  etc.  The  old- 
fashioned  hoe-cake  is  a  splendid  health  food. 

Green  corn  can  hardly  be  considered  a  cereal.  It  belongs 
more  largely  to  the  order  of  vegetables.  Popped  corn  con- 
forms in  general  to  the  composition  of  corn.  It  is  not  very 
easy  of  digestion,  but  is  highly  nutritious  and  well  digested 
by  the  average  stomach. 

THE    COOKING    OF    CORN 

Cbrn  in  the  form  of  hulled  hominy,  grits,  etc.,  requires 
prolonged  cooking.  Much  dyspepsia  has  resulted  from  the 
so-called  "  hasty  puddings  "  prepared  in  ten  or  fifteen  min- 
utes, whereas  corn  requires  two  or  three  hours  for  proper 
cooking,  dependent  on  the  milling  process  to  which  it  has 
been  subjected. 

Irish  moss  and  millet  are  quite  similar  in  composition,  the 
former  containing  about  twice  the  percentage  of  protein  usu- 
ally found  in  cereals,  with  a  less  percentage  of  starch,  con- 
trasting with  arrowroot,  which  is  composed  entirely  of 
starch. 

MACARONI 

Macaroni  is  a  special  form  of  bread,  and  when  made  from 
the  hard  varieties  of  wheat,  is  very  -rich  in  protein.  It  is 
called  by  different  names,  according  to  its  shape,  such  as 
macaroni,  spaghetti,  vermicelli,  and  pasta  d'ltalia.  The  bet- 
ter macaronis  are  found  to  be  tough  when  you  attempt  to 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  109 

break  them,  while  the  cheaper  starchy  products  are  easily 
broken.  The  cooking  of  macaroni  requires  from  twenty 
minutes  to  half  an  hour,  according  to  its  age. 

OATS 

Oats  represent  the  cereal  richest  in  fat.  The  gluten  of 
the  oat  lacks  the  tenacity  of  that  found  in  wheat,  and  there- 
fore it  is  impossible  to  make  good  fermented  bread  from  oat 
flour.  Oats  are  commonly  eaten  in  the  form  of  rolled  oats 
mush,  which  is  a  very  nutritious  food,  but  difficult  of  di- 
gestion when  cooked  only  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  as  is 
commonly  the  practice.  Other  oat  preparations  require 
from  two  to  four  hours  continuous  cooking  in  a  double  boiler, 
properly  to  prepare  the  starch  for  digestion. 

RYE 

Rye  as  a  breadstuff  is  superior  .o  barley,  but  inferior  to 
wheat,  whose  general  chemical  composition  it  closely  re- 
sembles. Rye  bread  is  a  favorite  among  some  nationalities, 
but  is  in  no  way  superior  to  wheat  bread. 

RICE 

Rice  is  much  lower  in  protein  than  the  grains  previously 
considered.  It  also  contains  a  very  small  amount  of  fat, 
but  it  is  principally  a  starch  food.  It  is  highly  nutritious, 
very  easy  of  digestion,  and  although  low  in  protein  and  fat, 
is  a  food  upon  which  the  Japanese  subsist  for  long  periods. 
Rice  should  be  cooked  so  as  not  to  lose  the  water  in  which 
it  is  prepared,  as  it  contains  practically  all  the  salts  and 
much  of  its  meagre  protein  substance.  Browning  in  the 
oven  before  cooking  adds  much  to  its  tastefulness  and  di- 
gestibility. Rice  is  now  made  in  the  form  of  flakes,  similar 
to  the  breakfast  foods.  It  is  one  of  the  mpst  easy  of  di- 
gestion of  all  the  cereals. 

SAGO  AND  TAPIOCA 

Sago  and  tapioca  are  really  prepared  foods  manufactured 
from  certain  plants  and  roots,  and  consist  quite  largely  of 
starch.  As  such,  they  require  thorough  cooking,  and  as 
foods  they  belong  to  the  class  of  cornstarch  and  arrowroot. 


1 10  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

WHEAT 

Wheat,  after  all,  is  probably  the  ideal  cereal  for  the  manu- 
facture of  bread.  Its  gluten  is  very  tenacious  and  holds 
gases  well,  thus  lending  itself  very  readily  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  fermented  breads.  Cracked  wheat  requires  thorough 
cooking  —  about  four  hours  when  cooked  in  a  double  boiler. 
The  more  finely  divided  the  grain,  or  when  thinly  rolled,  it 
cooks  in  a  shorter  time.  Wheat  grits  is  a  preparation  made 
from  the  germs  of  the  wheat  kernel,  and  is  an  excellent  food. 
It  is  most  commonly  prepared  as  a  mush.  Wheat  flakes  are 
also  on  the  market,  which  are  thoroughly  cooked  in  the  proc- 
ess of  manufacture.  Farina  is  another  preparation  of  wheat 
used  as  a  mush. 

FLOURS 

The  ideal  flour  for  the  healthy  stomach  is  either  entire 
wheat  or  graham.  So-called  fine  flour  is  deficient  in  protein 
and  salts,  while  patent  process  flour,  as  previously  noticed, 
preserves  most  of  the  gluten  and  salts,  the  bran  or  cellulose 
having  been  sifted  out.  The  cellulose  is  found  only  in  the 
graham  or  whole  wheat  flours. 

THE    COOKING   OF   STARCHES 

The  science  of  cooking,  so  far  as  health  and  digestion  are 
concerned,  resolves  itself  almost  entirely  into  the  proper 
cooking  of  starch.  Except  for  the  starches,  almost  all  other 
foods  are  more  valuable  and  more  easy  of  digestion  in  the 
raw  state. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  all  the  cereals  when  young 
or  in  the  "milky  stage,"  contain  fruit  sugar  in  the  place 
of  starch.  As  this  sugar  needs  no  cooking,  the  only  cook- 
ing green  corn  requires  is  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the 
digestibility  of  its  cellulose.  In  this  respect,  the  unripe 
cereals  resemble  the  fruits  and  vegetables,  but  as  the  cereals 
ripen,  the  easily  digested  sugar  is  converted  into  starch, 
which  is  practically  indigestible  when  raw,  and  very  diffi- 
cult of  digestion  unless  thoroughly  cooked. 

Fruits  contain  starch  when  th«y  are  green,  and  this  is 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  III 

converted  into  sugar  by  the  ripening  process.  The  cooking 
proposition,  therefore,  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  fol- 
lows :  Fruits  should  be  cooked  when  they  are  green  and 
may  be  eaten  raw  with  impunity  when  they  are  ripe.  Cere- 
als require  little  or  no  cooking  when  green  or  in  the  "  milky 
state,"  but  must  be  thoroughly  cooked  when  ripe  or  in  the 
dried  state. 

FRUITS 

The  American  people  in  recent  years  have  awakened  to 
the  value  of  the  cereals,  but  they  are  still  unappreciative  of 
the  great  value  of  fruits  as  a  regular  article  of  diet.  As  a 
class,  fruits  are  not  high  in  nutritive  value,  as  are  the 
cereals,  but  they  are  of  all  substances  most  tasty,  and  while 
they  contain  but  traces  of  fat  and  protein,  they  are  quite 
rich  in  the  important  salts  needed  in  the  human  economy. 
Their  nutritive  value  is  represented  by  various  forms  of 
starch,  acids,  and  fruit  sugar.  This  fruit  sugar  is  about  the 
only  substance  eaten  by  man  which  is  able  to  pass  im- 
mediately into  the  blood-stream  without  being  acted  upon  by 
any  of  the  digestive  secretions,  and  is  at  the  same  time  very 
high  in  heat  and  energy  value.  The  water  contained  in 
fruits  is  pure,  distilled  liquid  —  a  health  beverage  of  the 
highest  order.  The  bitter,  irritating,  or  poisonous  properties 
of  fruits  are  always  found  in  the  rind  or  outside  husk,  and 
can  therefore  easily  be  rejected.  The  old  adage  is  untrue, 
which  asserts  that  "  fruit  is  golden  in  the  morning,  silver  at 
noon,  and  lead  at  night."  Properly  combined  with  other 
food,  it  is  good  at  every  meal,  and  especially  good  at  night. 
The  acids  of  fruit  are  highly  nourishing.  They  contain 
from  i  to  2  per  cent  of  the  various  fruit  acids,  chiefly  malic, 
citric,  and  tartaric,  the  lemon  having  7.5  per  cent  of  acid. 
The  fruits  also  contain  from  I  to  5  per  cent  of  pectose 
or  vegetable  jelly. 

APPLES 

Apples,  in  common  with  most  fruits,  contain  less  than  one 
per  cent  of  protein  and  fat,  but  possess  about  15  per 
cent  of  fruit  sugar  dissolved  in  distilled  water  and  held 


112  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

in  a  framework  of  fine-grained,  easily  digested  cellulose. 
It  may  be  of  interest  in  this  connection  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  fruits  are  the  richest  of  all  substances  in 
cellulose  —  the  woody  portion  of  foods  —  which  is  of  great 
value  to  persons  troubled  with  constipation.  Of  course,  the 
proportion  of  protein  to  non-protein  elements  in  the  fruits 
is  very  low,  running  from  I  to  25  down  to  I  to  50.  Pure, 
unfermented  apple  juice  is  a  solution  of  fruit  sugar  in  dis- 
tilled water  which,  when  eaten,  enters  the  blood-stream  im- 
mediately without  digestion.  An  ounce  of  pure  fruit  juice 
contains  more  than  half  as  many  calories  as  an  ounce  of 
lean  meat.  Fresh,  unfermented,  unsweetened  fruit  juice  is  a 
powerful  germicide  —  destroying  all  ordinary  germs  in  a 
few  minutes.  Apple  sauce  is  similar  to  the  juice  with  a 
little  sugar  added.  Baked  apples  are  very  easy  of  digestion, 
while  dried  apples  are  higher  in  nutritive  value,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  water  has  been  largely  evaporated.  The 
varying  degree  of  acidity  in  apples,  as  well  as  in  other  fruits, 
renders  it  necessary  for  some  people  to  select  those  contain- 
ing less  acid,  when  they  are  troubled  with  acid  dyspepsia. 
An  excellent  method  of  sweetening  some  of  these  sour 
fruits  is  by  the  addition  of  one  of  the  sweet  fruits,  such  as 
raisins. 

APRICOTS 

Apricots  have  over   I   per  cent  of  protein  with   no  fat. 

They    are    high    in    cellulose,    having    about  5    per    cent. 

The   cooked   product   is   more   acid   than   the  raw,   due   to 
chemical  changes  brought  about  by  the  heat. 

BANANAS 

Bananas  as  a  food  more  nearly  resemble  the  cereals  than 
they  do  the  fruits,  as  they  contain  starch  more  largely  in 
the  place  of  sugar.  They  contain  a  small  amount  of  fat 
and,  in  common  with  most  fruits,  about  I  per  cent  of 
salts,  having  little  cellulose,  and  are  constipating  in  their 
effects,  whereas  the  majority  of  the  fruits  are  laxative. 
The  banana  must  be  thoroughly  masticated,  and  is  better  as 
a  food  if  baked. 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  113 

THE  BERRIES 

Blackberries,  blueberries,  raspberries,  whortleberries,  etc., 
have  the  same  general  composition,  running  from  10  to 
20  per  cent  in  nutritive  value,  containing  traces  of  pro- 
tein, very  little  fat,  the  usual  amount  of  salts,  with  a  good 
percentage  of  cellulose.  Especially  are  raspberries  rich  in 
this  latter  substance,  the  seeds  of  this  berry  being  reckoned 
as  cellulose. 

CHERRIES 

Cherries  are  somewhat  above  the  average  fruit  in  nutri- 
tive value,  averaging  about  25  per  cent.  They  are  very  rich 
in  cellulose,  equalling  the  apricot,  and  containing  about  i 
per  cent  of  protein. 

CRANBERRIES 

Cranberries,  currants,  and  gooseberries  are  of  about  the 
same  composition,  except  that  gooseberries  and  currants  have 
about  twice  the  nutritive  value  of  cranberries,  owing  to 
their  larger  per  cent  of  acid  and  sugar. 

THE   CANTALOUPE    OR    MUSKMELON 

This  melon-fruit  contains  no  fat,  but  is  rich  in  cellulose, 
with  a  fair  per  cent  of  sugar,  but  in  common  with  other 
melons,  it  is  about  85  per  cent  water. 

DATES 

Dates  are  a  peculiar  fruit,  having  a  nutritive  value 
of  85  per  cent.  They  contain  over  2  per  cent  of  both 
protein  and  fat,  and  of  course  are  very  high  in  starch 
and  sugar,  but,  contrary  to  the  ordinary  opinion,  they  con- 
tain a  very  small  amount  of  cellulose.  They  are  a  food  de- 
manding thorough  mastication.  Inferior  dates  are  often 
thoroughly  saturated  with  cheap  molasses. 

FIGS 

Another  peculiar  fruit,  having  the  highest  nutritive  value 
of  all  fruits,   fairly  rich   in  protein,  but  having  little   fat. 
The  fig  contains  much  sugar,  is  the  richest  of  all  fruits  in 
8 


1 14  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

cellulose,   being  equalled  or  excelled  only  by  the  whortle- 
berry.   An  excellent  food  for  constipation. 

FRUIT  JELLIES 

These  substances  contain  a  small  amount  of  salt.  They 
are  largely  the  concentration  of  fruit  juices  with  the  addi- 
tion of  cane  sugar,  which  renders  them  a  little  difficult  of 
digestion. 

LEMONS   AND   GRAPE   FRUIT 

These  two  fruits  are  about  the  same,  the  grape  fruit  con- 
taining a  little  more  of  the  fruit  acid.  They  are,  of  all  the 
fruits,  richest  in  these  valuable  acids,  which  in  the  process 
of  digestion  are  converted  into  certain  salts  which  render 
the  blood  more  alkaline. 

GRAPES 

Grapes  are  an  excellent  fruit,  containing  about  25  per 
cent  nutritive  value,  a  small  amount  of  protein  and  fat, 
but  a  large  amount  of  fruit  sugar  and  tartaric  acid.  They 
contain  a  fair  amount  of  cellulose. 

NECTARINES 

This  splendid  little  fruit  is  almost  wholly  starch,  sugar, 
and  water,  containing  but  a  small  amount  of  cellulose. 

OLIVES  AND  OLIVE  OIL 

Again  we  come  to  a  very  peculiar  fruit,  one  which  in 
chemical  composition  very  nearly  resembles  the  oily  nuts, 
and,  after  all,  nuts  might  be  classified  as  oily  fruits.  Ripe 
olives  are  very  wholesome.  This  cannot  be  said  of  the 
green,  pickled  olives.  The  ripe  olive,  while  it  has  a  trace  of 
protein,  contains  about  25  per  cent  of  pure,  emulsified, 
easily  digested  fat.  Olive  oil  is  about  100  per  cent  pure 
fat,  and  represents  a  very  wholesome  —  in  fact,  an  ideal  — 
form  for  securing  this  substance.  The  olive  and  olive  oil 
ought  to  come  into  more  general  use  and  more  largely  re- 
place the  use  of  animal  fats. 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  US 

ORANGES. 

Oranges  contain  over  i  per  cent  of  salts,  but  are  largely 
water  and  sugar.  The  pulp  represents  easily  digested  cellu- 
lose, and  contains  about  one-half  as  much  as  cherries  and 
other  fruits  rich  in  cellulose.  Orange  juice  is  a  solution  of 
digested  sugar  in  distilled  water,  and  can  be  taken  by  almost 
any  stomach,  even  by  infants. 

PEACHES    AND    PEARS 

These  fruits  are  very  similar,  the  peach  containing  more 
acid,  the  pear  more  sugar.  They  are  both  rich  in  cellulose, 
but  poor  in  both  protein  and  fat. 

THE   PINEAPPLE. 

In  total  nutritive  value,  the  pineapple  stands  a  little  above 
the  fruits.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  rich  in 
cellulose,  containing  almost  as  much  as  figs.  It  is,  there- 
fore, a  good  food  for  inactive  bowels.  The  pineapples  sold 
in  this  country  are  practically  green. 

PLUMS 

These  fruits  contain  no  fat.  They  are  rich  in  cellulose 
and  sugar,  with  a  small  amount  of  salt.  The  prune  is  the 
plum  dried  and  is  certainly  an  excellent  food.  It  may  be 
eaten  raw,  after  soaking  in  water,  or  in  the  form  of  sauce 
or  prune  marmalade. 

RAISINS 

Raisins,  or  dried  grapes,  are  a  food  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated, containing  protein  and  fat,  with  sugar  and  acids, 
and  a  small  amount  of  cellulose. 

STRAWBERRIES, 

This  luscious  berry  is  low  in  nutritive  value,  consisting 
largely  of  water,  a  small  amount  of  sugar,  and  cellulose, 
but  is  very  easy  of  digestion.  It  contains  a  considerable 
amount  of  iron. 


Il6  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

TOMATOES 

This  splendid  fruit,  formerly  regarded  as  poisonous,  now 
commonly  considered  a  vegetable,  is  one  of  the  lowest  in 
nutritive  value  and,  contrary  to  common  supposition,  it  is 
also  very  low  in  cellulose.  It  contains  a  small  amount  of 
acid,  and  is  rich  in  salts,  containing  iron  and  other  valuable 
mineral  elements. 

THE   WATERMELON 

This  is  the  largest  of  the  melon-fruits.  Its  n  per  cent 
of  nutritive  value  consists  of  cellulose,  sugar,  and  salt, 
the  remainder  being  pure  distilled  water.  It  is  an  excellent 
hot-weather  food,  and  suited  to  any  stomach  if  the  coarser 
cellulose  is  rejected. 

NUTS 

The  nuts  represent  the  seeds  of  certain  large  plants  and 
trees.  They  are  a  unique  class  of  foods,  entirely  different 
from  all  other  food  substances.  Since  they  are  largely 
borne  by  trees,  they  might  properly  be  classed  as  fruits. 
They  are  exceedingly  high  in  nutritive  value,  averaging  in 
the  neighborhood  of  90  per  cent.  They  are  very  rich  in 
proteins.  They  are  as  high  or  higher  than  flesh  foods,  from 
which  they  greatly  differ  in  that  their  protein  is  very  evenly 
combined  with  non-protein  elements,  the  ratio  running  from 
about  i  to  4,  down  to  about  i  to  9,  more  nearly  resembling 
the  cereals  in  this  respect.  Nuts  are  very  rich  in  fat  and 
salts,  while  in  cellulose  they  run  about  the  same  as  the 
fruits. 

ALMONDS   AND  BEECHNUTS 

These  nuts  yield  20  per  cent  in  protein,  about  50  per  cent, 
or  one-half  of  their  bulk,  in  fat,  with  starchy  substances  less 
than  10  per  cent.  They  are  rich  in  salts,  and  contain  about 
5  per  cent  of  cellulose. 

BRAZIL   NUTS   AND  BUTTERNUTS 

These  nuts  are  the  richest  in  fat  of  all  nuts  except  the 
pecan.  Otherwise  their  composition  is  about  the  same  as 
^he  rest  of  the  nut  family. 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  117 


THE    COCOANUT 


This  nut  is  low  in  protein,  containing  only  about  one- 
third  that  of  the  other  nuts.  It  is  rich,  however,  in  fat,  and 
contains  30  per  cent  of  starch.  It  is  a  nut  which  more 
nearly  approaches  the  cereals,  or  bread  type  of  food. 

THE    CHESTNUT 

Chestnuts  contain  the  smallest  amount  of  protein  of  all 
nuts.  They  are  more  nearly  "  cereal "  than  some  of  the 
grains  themselves.  The  chestnut  is  about  35  per  cent  starch, 
and  therefore  should  be  baked  or  boiled  before  it  is  eaten. 

FILBERTS    OR    HAZELNUTS. 

These  run  about  one-half  fat  and  15  per  cent  protein, 
etc.  They  are  valuable  little  nuts,  but  require  thorough 
mastication. 

HICKORY    NUTS 

These  nuts  are  very  similar  in  composition  to  the  filbert, 
and  are  good  food  when  eaten  before  they  have  become 
rancid. 

PECANS. 

The  pecan  is  a  unique  nut-fruit  and  deserves  to  have  been 
called  the  "  butter  nut "  or  "  fat  nut,"  and  in  this  respect 
very  nearly  approaches  the  olive  in  its  composition,  contain- 
ing over  70  per  cent  of  fat.  It  has  less  than  10  per 
cent  protein,  not  much  starch,  and  is  a  nut  that  deserves  to 
come  into  general  use. 

PEANUTS 

This  commonly  used  little  nut  is  really  not  a  nut.  It  be- 
longs to  the  family  of  legumes,  and  will  be  treated  there. 

PINE    NUTS,    OR   PIGNOLIAS 

This  nut  is  unique  in  that  it  is  rich  both  in  protein  and  fat. 
It  contains  a  goodly  percentage  of  salts  and  cellulose. 

WALNUTS. 

Walnuts  run  on  a  general  average  the  same  as  the  other 
nuts,  being  well  balanced  in  all  the  elements. 


Il8  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

THE   VEGETABLES 

As  a  class,  the  vegetables  are  low  in  nutritive  value, 
averaging  in  the  neighborhood  of  10  per  cent,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  potato.  In  protein,  the  vegetables  run  slightly 
above  the  fruits.  In  fat,  they  are  equal  to  the  fruits  or  a 
little  better.  In  carbohydrates,  they  differ  greatly  from  the 
fruits  in  that  they  contain  starch  in  the  place  of  fruit  sugar. 
Many  of  the  vegetables,  therefore,  may  be  rendered  more 
digestible  by  a  moderate  amount  of  cooking.  The  vege- 
tables contain  in  the  neighborhood  of  I  per  cent,  or  a 
little  less,  of  the  mineral  elements  or  organic  salts,  about 
the  same  as  or  a  trifle  below  the  fruits.  Contrary  to  popular 
opinion,  the  vegetables  are  poor  in  cellulose,  varying  be- 
tween i  and  2  per  cent.  The  cellulose  of  the  vegetable 
makes  a  large  appearance  because  it  is  coarse  and  skeleton- 
like  in  form,  as  in  the  case  of  cabbage;  but  when  it  comes 
to  the  eating  of  green  foods  as  a  remedy  for  constipation, 
the  fruits  are  three  times  more  valuable  than  vegetables. 
The  proportion  of  protein  to  non-protein  elements  in  vege- 
tables runs  very  low,  from  I  to  5  down  to  I  to  15. 

ASPARAGUS. 

Asparagus  is  one  of  the  more  easily  digested  vegetables. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  tips.  Its  slight  nutritive  value 
is  due  to  a  trace  of  protein  and  about  3  per  cent  of  starch. 

STRING  BEANS. 

The  beans  and  peas  in  the  green  state  must  be  regarded 
as  vegetables.  In  this  respect,  they  resemble  the  cereals, 
in  that  the  ripening  process  entirely  changes  their  chemical 
composition.  String  beans  resemble  the  ordinary  leaves  of 
vegetables  in  their  general  composition  and  digestibility. 

BEETS. 

Beets  .possess  two  or  three  times  the  nutritive  value  of 
ordinary  vegetables.  They  are  one  of  the  sweet  roots,  and 
contain  almost  15  per  cent  of  cane  sugar.  Beets  are  ren- 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  119 

dered  more  digestible  by  cooking,  as  are  their  tops,  which 
are  used  as  beet  greens. 

CABBAGE 

Cabbage  has  a  nutritive  value  of  about  10  per  cent,  about 
half  of  which  is  starch.  It  contains  only  a  little  over  I 
per  cent  of  cellulose.  This  cellulose  shows  prominent  be- 
cause the  fibrous  part  is  very  coarse  or  sponge-like.  Raw 
cabbage  can  be  digested  in  two  and  one-half  hours,  but 
cooked  cabbage  requires  twice  that  time  for  digestion. 
Therefore,  cabbage  is  best  eaten  in  the  raw  state,  in  the 
form  of  cold  slaw. 

CARROTS,   PARSNIPS,   AND  TURNIPS, 

These  vegetables  much  resemble  one  another,  carrots  be- 
ing a  little  richer  in  starch,  while  the  parsnip  is  a  little 
richer  in  cellulose.  In  fact,  parsnips  contain  a  higher  per- 
centage of  cellulose  than  any  other  vegetable.  The  tur- 
nips are  the  most  difficult  to  digest. 

CAULIFLOWER. 

This  is  one  of  the  easily  digested  vegetables.  It  is  a  sort 
of  tender  cabbage,  whose  general  chemical  composition  it 
resembles. 

CELERY 

Celery  is  one  of  the  vegetables  less  in  nutritive  value. 
Its  cellulose  is  small  in  amount,  but  very  coarse.  It  con- 
tains a  good  percentage  of  salts. 

CUCUMBERS 

Like  celery,  the  cucumber  is  very  low  in  nourishment. 
Its  starch  is  difficult  of  digestion,  and  in  the  pickled  form 
it  is  almost  impossible  of  digestion. 

GREEN    CORN 

Green  corn,  as  previously  noted,  is  not  a  cereal,  but  more 
largely  on  the  order  of  the  vegetable  or  fruit.  It  contains 
almost  20  per  cent  of  sugar  in  the  place  of  starch.  In 
the  ripened  form,  it  requires  cooking  to  transform  this 


120  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

starch   properly   and  prepare  it   for  digestion.     It  contains 
about  twice  as  much  starch  as  the  ordinary  vegetable. 

GREENS. 

The  various  plant  tops  used  for  greens,  such  as  spinach, 
kale,  dandelion,  etc.,  run  about  10  per  cent  of  starch,  with 
a  small  percentage  of  fat.  They  are  rich  in  salts  and  con- 
tain a  small  per  cent  of  cellulose,  about  half  that  found  in 
the  fruits. 

EGG  PLANT. 

Egg  plant  is  a  wholesome  vegetable,  fairly  easy  of  di- 
gestion. It  contains  less  than  10  per  cent  nutritive  value. 
Its  starch  is  coarse  and  requires  cooking. 

LETTUCE. 

Lettuce  is  one  of  the  vegetables  low  in  food  value.  It 
contains  a  number  of  salts,  but  is  not  a  sleep-producing 
food  in  the  quantities  in  which  it  is  ordinarily  eaten,  as 
some  people  suppose. 

ONIONS 

Onions  are  above  the  ordinary  of  vegetables  in  nutritive 
value,  due  to  their  starchy  substances ;  and  in  addition  to 
the  salts,  they  contain  irritating  acids,  which  are  rendered 
less  injurious  by  cooking,  so  that  boiled  onions  are  a  com- 
paratively wholesome  food. 

GREEN   PEAS 

Green  peas  are  the  most  nutritious  of  all  the  vegetables 
except  potatoes.  They  are  rich  in  protein,  fat,  and  starch, 
and  when  large  enough  to  fill  the  pod,  have  already  begun 
to  turn  the  corner  toward  the  legume  state,  which  com- 
pletely takes  them  out  of  the  vegetable  class. 

PUMPKINS    AND    SQUASHES 

The  pumpkin  is  one  of  the  coarse  vegetables,  classified 
by  some  authorities  as  a  fruit,  as  is  also  the  squash.  As 
these  foods  contain  little  sugar,  but  much  starch,  we  pre- 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  121 

fer  to  regard  them  as  vegetables.    They  require  thorough 
cooking. 

THE   IRISH    POTATO 

The  Irish  potato  should  be  classified  as  a  cereal,  but  as 
it  grows  under  ground  and  is  more  generally  regarded  as  a 
vegetable,  we  will  so  treat  it  here.  Potatoes  run  from 
25  to  30  per  cent  nutritive  value,  containing  some  protein 
and  practically  no  fat;  but  like  the  cereals,  they  are  rich  in 
starch,  containing  a  small  amount  of  potassium  and  other 
salts,  with  practically  no  cellulose.  The  baked  potato  rep- 
resents the  most  easily  digested  form  of  starch  known  to- 
day. The  ratio  of  the  protein  element  to  the  non-protein 
in  potato  is  ideal.  It  represents  a  food  just  about  as  well 
balanced  as  bread,  and,  like  bread,  it  is  deficient  in  fat; 
therefore,  potatoes  are  able  to  take  the  place  of  bread  and 
cereals  nicely  in  the  average  diet 

THE  RADISH, 

The  radish  is  one  of  the  vegetables  rich  in  cellulose,  but 
poor  in  almost  every  other  element  except  a  little  starch. 
It  is  one  of  the  vegetables  most  difficult  of  digestion.  It 
contains  certain  irritating  oils  similar  to  the  onion. 

THE   SWEET   POTATO 

The  sweet  potato  in  nutritive  value  runs  about  the  same 
as  the  Irish  potato.  It  is  probably  a  little  more  difficult  of 
digestion.  It  contains  a  little  cellulose.  In  starch  it  has 
but  little  more  than  half  the  value  of  the  Irish  potato. 

THE  VEGETABLE   OYSTER,   OR  SALSIFY 

This  vegetable  contains  a  small  percentage  of  fat  and 
starch.  Its  nutritive  value  is  very  low.  Its  chief  service  is 
that  of  a  flavor  for  soup. 

FLESH    FOODS 

Contrary  to  the  general  belief,  meats  are  not  highly  nu- 
tritious foods.  They  are  from  one-half  to  three-quarters 


122  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

water,  not  the  distilled  water  of  the  fruits  and  vegetables, 
but  contaminated,  poison-laden  liquid,  derived  from  the 
blood  and  tissue  juices  present  in  the  animal  at  the  time  of 
death.  Flesh  foods  are  different  from  all  other  food  sub- 
stances in  that  the  percentage  of  protein  and  non-protein 
elements  is  excessively  high,  running  from  I  to  I,  down  to 
about  i  to  2.  This  constitutes  them  a  class  of  foods  in 
which  very  nearly  one-half  of  the  nutritive  value  is  pure 
protein.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  take  flesh  foods  regu- 
larly without  consuming  an  excess  of  protein. 

BEEF  FLESH. 

The  average  cut  of  fresh  or  preserved  beef  runs  from 
15  to  20  per  cent  in  protein,  with  less  than  5  per 
cent  of  fat,  except  in  the  fat  portions  of  steak,  etc.  In 
common  with  other  flesh  foods,  beef  contains  no  starch  or 
sugar,  but  does  contain  a  small  percentage  of  salts  in  solu- 
tion in  the  animal  juices.  This  percentage  in  various  flesh 
foods  averages  a  little  more  than  i  per  cent.  Flesh  foods 
contain  no  cellulose  and  are,  therefore,  rather  constipating. 
Veal  runs  the  same  in  nutritive  value  as  beef.  The  flesh  of 
all  young  animals  contains  much  more  of  the  acid  producing 
substances  which  probably  favor  rheumatism  and  allied  con- 
ditions. 

The  digestibility  of  meats  is  decreased  by  cooking,  but 
cooking  is  rendered  absolutely  necessary  by  certain  disease 
dangers  lurking  in  all  uncooked  or  insufficiently  cooked  flesh. 

BEEF   TEA   and   BEEF  EXTRACT 

Beef  tea  is  a  stimulant,  not  a  food.  It  contains  but  a 
trifle  over  i  per  cent  of  nutritive  value.  It  contains  cer- 
tain animal  extractives  in  solution,  which  are  stimulating 
to  the  body.  Beef  tea  exerts  an  effect  similar  to  tea  and 
coffee.  Beef  extract  contains  some  nutritive  elements  and 
therefore  has  a  food  value. 

POULTRY. 

Chicken,  turkey,  duck,  etc.  Poultry  runs  a  little  below 
beef  in  protein  content,  but  as  it  usually  contains  more  fat, 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  123 

the  nutritive  value  is  about  the  same  or  slightly  higher  than 
beef  flesh.  The  domestic  fowls  are  a  little  more  digestible 
than  beef,  while  the  wild  fowl  is  more  difficult  of  digestion. 

FISH. 

Fresh  fish  are  a  little  less  than  beef  in  protein  value. 
They  contain  a  varying  percentage  of  fat,  some  high  and 
some  low.  Their  total  nutritive  value  is  about  one-fourth 
less  than  that  of  beef  and  the  average  flesh  foods. 

MUTTON. 

In  nutritive  value  mutton  is  identical  with  beef.  It  con- 
tains a  little  less  of  protein,  but  more  fat  and  salts.  In  di- 
gestibility it  is  about  the  same  or  a  little  less. 

OYSTERS. 

Of  all  flesh  foods,  oysters  are  lowest  in  nutritive  value 
and,  with  the  exception  of  pork,  are  more  dangerous  from 
the  standpoint  of  disease.  The  oyster  is  in  reality  a  large 
liver  and  kidney  filled  with  bad  water.  It  is  the  only  flesh 
product  outside  of  clam  chowder  which  contains  any  starch 
substance  at  all. 

PORK. 

Average  lean  pork  runs  a  little  above  beef  in  nutritive 
value,  as  it  contains  more  fat.  Pork  is  the  most  difficult  of 
digestion  of  all  flesh  food,  salted  pork  requiring  about  five 
hours  to  pass  out  of  the  stomach,  while  smoked  ham  may  re- 
quire even  a  longer  time. 

RABBITS. 

Game  of  this  kind  is  usually  a  little  higher  in  nutritive 
value  than  beef,  as  the  protein  and  fat  content  are  greater. 

VENISON 

Venison  differs  very  little  from  other  flesh.  There  is  a 
group  of  animal  products  which  space  will  not  permit  us  to 
mention  in  detail,  but  which  can  be  examined  by  consulting 
the  food  tables,  such  as  clam  chowder,  Bologna  sausage, 
frog's  legs,  lobsters,  sweetbreads,  turtle,  etc. 


124  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


ANIMAL   PRODUCTS 

We  have  a  group  of  foods  which  are  derived  from  the 
animal,  but  which  do  not  contain  flesh,  such  as  eggs,  milk, 
cream,  butter,  cheese,  etc.  The  animal  may  be  more  or  less 
diseased,  but  these  products,  in  the  form  of  eggs  and  milk, 
are  the  last  to  become  affected.  Notwithstanding  this  fact, 
it  cannot  be  expected  that  wholesome  milk  or  eggs  can  be 
long  derived  from  a  sick  cow  or  chicken. 

BUTTER 

Butter  is  a  free  fat  obtained  by  churning  cream,  a  process 
which  consolidates  all  its  minute  fat  droplets.  It  contains 
a  small  amount  of  protein  and  salt,  but  is  practically  all 
butter  fat,  with  about  10  per  cent  of  water.  In  caloric 
value  it  represents  one  of  the  most  valuable  foods  that  can 
be  eaten  for  purposes  of  heat  and  energy.  It  is,  therefore, 
a  cold-weather  food,  but  not  so  desirable  in  hot  weather. 
Each  ounce  of  butter  represents  over  227  calories  of  heat. 
Butter  is  not  easy  of  digestion  and,  in  common  with  all 
other  fat,  delays  the  process  of  stomach  digestion. 

BUTTERMILK. 

Buttermilk  contains  some  protein  and  sugar  of  milk,  with 
very  little  fat,  and  about  i  per  cent  of  salt.  Many  peo- 
ple can  digest  buttermilk,  who  cannot  tolerate  raw  milk. 
The  buttermilk  germ  probably  has  some  effect  in  sterilizing 
the  intestinal  tract  and  preventing  the  accumulation  of 
germs  therein.  On  the  whole,  buttermilk  is  a  preferable 
food  to  sweet  milk. 

CREAM. 

Cream  averages  from  15  to  20  per  cent  fat,  and  represents 
fat  in  a  more  easily  digested  form  than  butter.  Many  peo- 
ple who  cannot  take  milk,  can  take  cream  in  connection  with 
various  desserts,  puddings,  etc. 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  12$ 

CHEESE, 

We  have  cheese  in  two  forms,  the  fresh,  or  cottage  cheese 
—  a  very  nutritious  food;  very  high  in  protein,  much  re- 
sembling the  flesh  foods  in  this  respect.  Its  protein  is  very 
easy  of  digestion  and  does  not  contain  the  harmful  and  ir- 
ritating poisons  generally  found  in  old,  ripe  cheese.  Or- 
dinary full-cream  cheese  is  a  nourishing  food,  rich  in  pro- 
tein, fat,  and  salts.  The  only  objection  to  it  as  a  food,  other 
than  its  excessive  richness  in  protein,  is  that  it  has  passed 
through  a  stage  of  decomposition  and  contains  certain  acids 
which  are  very  irritating  to  the  digestive  system. 

EGGS 

Of  all  food  products  derived  from  the  animal,  the  egg  is 
probably  the  least  objectionable.  Eggs  are  very  nutritious, 
being  almost  equal  in  value  to  beefsteak,  and  of  the  same 
general  chemical  composition.  The  white  of  the  egg  is 
about  13  per  cent  protein,  with  less  than  2  per  cent  of  fat, 
being  almost  purely  a  protein  substance;  while  the  yolk  is 
about  15  per  cent  protein  and  more  than  30  per  cent  fat. 
Eggs  are  an  excellent  food  if  not  eaten  in  too  great  quan- 
tities, and  certainly  form  an  admirable  substitute  for  flesh 
foods  for  those  desiring  to  eat  less  meat.  Eggnog,  or  raw 
eggs  beaten  up  in  milk,  constitutes  a  highly  nourishing  and 
easily  digested  food  —  a  food  highly  valuable  to  consump- 
tives and  others  in  a  weakened  condition.  The  more  an  egg 
is  cooked,  the  more  difficult  it  becomes  of  digestion. 

MILK. 

Whole  milk  has  about  13  per  cent  of  nutritive  value,  con- 
taining about  4  per  cent  of  protein,  fat,  and  sugar;  usually 
a  little  more  of  sugar  than  of  the  other  elements.  Some  peo- 
ple thrive  on  milk;  others  cannot  tolerate  it.  While  it  is 
probably  the  ideal  food  for  infants,  it  is  not  an  ideal  adult 
food.  Mother's  milk  is  richer  in  sugar  and  poorer  in  pro- 
tein and  fat,  than  cow's  milk. 


126  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


THE   LEGUMES, 

The  legumes  might  very  properly  be  termed  the  "  veg- 
etable beefsteaks,"  in  that  the  ratio  between  protein  and 
non-protein  elements  runs  about  the  same  as  in  the  flesh 
foods.  Therefore,  all  persons  desiring  to  reduce  the  pro- 
tein in  their  diet,  or  desiring  to"  eat  less  of  flesh  foods,  should 
be  very  careful  also  to  reduce  the  amount  of  legumes  eaten, 
or  they  will  be  merely  cutting  down  the  animal  protein  and 
taking  an  equal  amount  or  more  of  vegetable  protein.  The 
difference  between  the  protein  in  the  flesh  foods  and  in  the 
legumes  is  that  the  vegetable  protein  is  pure  and  unpol- 
luted, free  from  animal  contamination  and  intoxication. 
It  is  also  a  little  more  difficult  of  digestion.  About  90 
per  cent  of  animal  protein  is  digested  compared  with  about 
80  per  cent  of  the  vegetable  proteins.  According  to  Gautier, 
animal  protein  acidifies,  stimulates,  and  injures  the  blood- 
stream. Protein  of  vegetable  origin,  with  its  accompanying 
salts,  alkalinizes  and  otherwise  prepares  the  blood-stream  to 
resist  infection. 

DRIED  BEANS. 

Dried  beans  contain  more  than  three  times  the  nutritive 
value  of  beef.  They  contain  more  of  the  protein  than  the 
flesh  foods,  and  in  addition  to  a  small  amount  of  fat,  they 
contain  from  40  to  50  per  cent  of  starch,  and  this  is  what 
necessitates  the  cooking  of  the  legumes.  The  legumes  are 
very  rich  in  salts,  more  so  than  any  other  class  of  foods, 
containing  from  i  to  2  or  even  3  per  cent.  They  are  also 
rich  in  cellulose,  containing  more  than  vegetables,  but  less 
than  fruits.  They  are,  therefore,  extremely  rich  foods  in 
all  elements,  and  outside  of  being  a  little  more  difficult  of 
digestion,  they  are  adapted  perfectly  to  take  the  place  of 
flesh  foods  in  the  nourishment  of  the  body.  The  only  ob- 
jection to  them  is  the  same  as  that  urged  against  flesh  — 
being  so  very  rich  in  protein,  it  is  easy  to  overeat  when 
large  quantities  of  this  class  of  foods  are  consumed.  Un- 


A  STUDY  OF  FOODS  127 

hulled  and  unsoaked  beans  require  to  be  cooked  from  5  to 
8  hours. 

The  hulls  of  beans  are  very  difficult  of  digestion  and  also 
contain  a  very  small  amount  of  uric  acid;  therefore,  bean 
puree  is  the  ideal  form  in  which  to  eat  beans,  as  the  hulls 
have  been  removed  by  having  been  run  through  the  colan- 
der. Of  all  the  legumes,  the  Lima  bean  is  the  highest  in 
nutritive  value  —  92  per  cent.  Other  beans,  not  mentioned, 
run  on  an  average  about  the  same  as  the  dried  navy  bean 
just  considered. 

LENTILS.          i 

Lentils  are  a  small  leguminous  seed,  not  so  generally 
known  or  used  in  this  country  as  beans,  but  an  excellent 
nitrogenous  food,  containing  about  25  per  cent  of  protein, 
more  than  50  per  cent  of  starch,  with  over  2  per  cent  of 
fat.  They  are  cooked  about  the  same  as  beans,  and  may 
be  made  into  many  savory  dishes. 

PEAS 

Dried  peas  are  rich  in  protein  in  common  with  beans  and 
lentils,  this  protein  being  in  the  form  of  legumin,  a  special 
substance  not  found  in  any  other  class  of  foods.  Soups 
made  from  peas  and  the  other  legumes  are  very  nutritious 
as  compared  with  other  soups. 

THE  PEANUT, 

The  peanut  is  a  legume,  its  protein  element  being  identical 
with  that  of  peas  and  beans.  It  is  a  very  nutritious  little 
seed,  but  quite  difficult  of  digestion,  especially  in  the  roasted 
state,  as  in  this  condition  it  is  practically  fried  in  its  own 
oil.  It  does  not  contain  so  much  starch  as  the  other 
legumes,  but  is  far  richer  in  fat,  containing  almost  40  per 
cent.  It  also  differs  from  the  other  legumes  in  that  it  con- 
tains a  high  percentage  of  cellulose.  Peanut  ^  butter  is  made 
from  this  nut,  owing  to  its  richness  in  fat.  When  made 
from  roasted  peanuts,  this  butter  is  difficult  of  digestion. 


128  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


VARIOUS    COMMON    FOODS 

Space  will  not  permit  us  to  consider  further  in  detail  the 
various  articles  of  human  diet.  The  reader  is  referred  to 
the  food  tables  for  details  concerning  various  foods,  and 
especially  with  reference  to  the  ordinary  cooked  foods 
which  are  shown  in  connection  with  the  raw  foods,  so  that 
a  glance  will  reveal  the  effect  of  cooking  with  its  addition 
of  sugar,  salt,  water,  etc.,  or  its  abstraction  of  water  in  the 
case  of  baking,  etc. 

Great  pains  have  been  taken,  in  the  preparation  of  these 
tables,  to  show  foods  as  they  are  commonly  used  upon  the 
table,  as  the  student  of  foods  can  gain  but  little  idea  of 
what  he  is  eating  by  merely  studying  tables  dealing  with 
raw  foodstuffs.  In  connection  with  each  element  in  the 
food  tables,  the  calories  per  ounce  of  food  are  given.  (Food 
Tables  are  to  be  found  on  pages  370  to  383. 


CHAPTER  X 

POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS* 

RESULTS  OF  FOOD  ADULTERATION. —  ADULTERATION  OF  ANIMAL  PROD- 
UCTS.—  PRESERVED  MEATS. —  SAUSAGE. —  CANNED  MEATS. —  LARD 
AND  MINCEMEAT. —  EGGS. —  FlSH  AND  OYSTER  POISONING. — ADUL- 
TERATION OF  DAIRY  PRODUCTS. —  MlLK  ADULTERANTS. —  CHEMICAL 
PRESERVATIVES. —  MlLK  CONTAMINATIONS. —  CREAM. —  BUTTER. — 
CHEESE. —  ICE  CREAM. —  CONDENSED  MILK. —  ADULTERATION  OF 
CEREALS. — BREADS  AND  PASTRIES. — BREAKFAST  FOODS,  ETC. — ADUL- 
TERATION OF  SUGAR  PRODUCTS. —  CANDY  ADULTERANTS. —  HONEY. 

—  SYRUP  AND  MOLASSES. —  SUGAR. —  JELLIES  AND  JAMS. — 
ADULTERATION  OF  CONDIMENTS  AND  RELISHES. —  CONDIMENTS. — 
PICKLES  AND  VINEGARS. —  TOMATO  CATSUP. —  OLIVE  OIL  AND  FLA- 
VORING EXTRACTS. —  ADULTERATION  OF  BEVERAGES  AND  MEDICINES. 
TEA  AND  COFFEE. —  SOFT  DRINKS. —  MEDICINES. 

THE  public  press  has  recently  devoted  much  space  to 
the  discussion  of  "  tainted  money."  If  an  equal 
amount  of  publicity  had  been  given  to  the  consideration  of 
tainted  foods,  great  good  would  have  resulted  by  way  of 
improving  the  health  and  happiness  of  the  people,  for 
quite  a  percentage  of  the  food  commonly  eaten  by  the 
average  citizen  is  more  or  less  "  tainted "  as  the  result  of 
cold  storage,  incipient  decay,  accidental  poisoning,  or  in- 
tentional adulteration.  Even  though  an  adulterated  food  is 
not  poisonous,  it  is  nevertheless  a  fraud. 

*  While  the  Federal  Pure  Food  Laws  have  done  much  to  lessen 
food  aduheration,  especially  in  interstate  commerce,  and  raise 
the  standards  of  food  dealers  and  manufacturers,  nevertheless 
food  frauds  continue.  The  reader  should  not  be  unduly  alarmed 
by  the  disclosures  of  this  chapter.  In  no  one  locality  and  at  no 
one  time  were  all  these  adulterations  found.  They  represent 
conditions  as  found  from  time  to  time  all  over  this  country  by 
the  various  State,  municipal  and  other  food  inspectors. 
9  129 


130  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


RESULTS   OF    FOOD   ADULTERATION 

Modern  science  is  rapidly  effecting  the  conquest  of  the 
great  world  plagues  and  many  of  the  so-called  germ  dis- 
eases, such  as  yellow  fever,  smallpox,  diphtheria,  hydro- 
phobia, lockjaw,  malaria,  and  cholera;  but,  in  the  very  face 
of  the  great  victories  achieved  by  science  in  the  conquering  of 
these  germ  diseases,  we  are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  a 
tremendous  increase  in  practically  all  those  diseases  which 
are  a  result  of  slow  and  long-continued  poisoning  —  the 
chronic  and  constitutional  diseases.  The  writer  has  long 
held  the  opinion  that  the  use  of  poisoned  and  adulterated 
foods  had  much  to  do  with  lowering  the  vital  resisting 
power  of  the  body,  thus  paving  the  way  for  a  general  or 
partial  physical  breakdown,  with  its  train  of  chronic  af- 
flictions and  constitutional  maladies. 

In  other  words,  while  the  acute  diseases  caused  by  germs 
and  their  poisons  are  being  gradually  mastered  by  science, 
the  chronic  diseases  caused  by  body-poisons  and  food- 
poisons  are  increasing  at  a  tremendous  rate.  Estimates 
based  upon  statistics  gathered  from  various  sources  compel 
us  to  recognize  that  insanity,  idiocy,  and  epilepsy,  have  in- 
creased in  the  past  fifty  years  about  100  per  cent,  some 
authorities  claiming  an  increase  as  high  as  300  per  cent. 
Bright's  disease  and  diabetes  have  increased  in  the  last  fifty 
years  more  than  500  per  cent.  One  American  authority 
claims  that  diabetes  has  increased  in  fifty  years  almost  1,500 
per  cent. 

Cancer  —  a  disease  closely  associated  with  the  health 
and  nutrition  of  the  body  cells  —  has  increased  over  100 
per  cent  in  twenty-five  years. 

General  nervous  diseases  and  drug  habits  are  greatly  on 
the  increase.  It  is  possible  that  the  constant  irritation  of 
the  system  from  the  use  of  unnatural,  adulterated,  or 
poisoned  foods,  which  were  so  extensively  used  until  very 
recently,  has  had  much  to  do  with  undermining  the  diges- 
tive system  and  rendering  unstable  the  nervous  system. 

One  of  the  government  experts  on  food  adulteration  is 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS        131 

responsible  for  the  statement  that  "  adulterated  foods  and 
drugs  do  more  harm  than  the  rum  traffic."  Notwithstand- 
ing the  numerous  pure-food  laws  of  the  States  and  the 
national  pure-food  law,  it  is  estimated  that  almost  a  bil- 
lion dollars'  worth  of  adulterated  or  fraudulently  labelled 
foods  are  sold  each  year  in  the  United  States;  that  is,  about 
10  per  cent  of  the  food  output  of  this  country  is  in  some 
form  or  other  dishonest  —  either  harmfully  or  harmlessly 
adulterated.  Ten  million  pounds  of  adulterated  and  tainted 
foods  was  destroyed  by  the  Food  Inspectors  of  the  Chicago 
Health  Department  in  a  single  year. 

A  general  principle  with  reference  to  the  chemistry  of 
foods,  which  should  be  ever  borne  in  mind,  is  this :  "  What- 
ever braces  a  food  against  decay  braces  it  against  diges- 
tion " ;  therefore  all  food  preservatives  render  food  more 
difficult  of  digestion  and  are  harmful  in  this  way,  if  in  no 
other.  Of  sixty-seven  commonly  used  food  preservatives 
examined  by  the  Government  Chemist,  the  results  were  as 
follows : 

33  contained  borax  or  boric  acid. 

10  sodium,  potassium  or  calcium  sulphite. 

8  salicylic  acid  or  its  compounds. 

7  benzoic  acid  or  its  compounds. 

5  combinations  of  the  above  and  other 

harmful  substances. 

Doctor  Wiley,  the  Government  Chemist,  very  strongly 
condemns  all  these  common  food  preservatives  as  being 
harmful  to  the  health.  The  milkman  may  endeavor  to  turn 
water  into  milk,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  baby 
cannot  turn  this  adulterated  milk  into  good  blood.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  improvement  of  the  milk  sup- 
ply in  our  towns  and  cities,  so  as  to  provide  pure  milk  — 
fresh,  clean,  and  unadulterated  —  would  reduce  the  infant 
mortality  50  per  cent. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  national  pure-food  law 
serves  as  a  protection  only  in  cases  where  food  is  shipped 
from  one  State  into  another.  Protection  against  adul- 


132  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

terated  foods  which  are  sold  in  the  State  where  they  are 
manufactured,  depends  entirely  upon  the  enactment  and 
enforcement  of  strong  State  pure-food  laws. 

One-third  of  all  the  food  samples  analyzed  by  the  Illinois 
State  Chemist  a  few  years  ago,  were  found  adulterated. 
The  importance  of  food  adulteration  increases  year  by  year, 
as  the  American  people  are  coming  more  and  more  to  use 
manufactured  foods;  that  is,  foods  prepared  outside  of  the 
home.  A  generation  ago  a  large  per  cent  of  the  foods 
consumed  were  prepared  in  the  household;  but  it  is  differ- 
ent to-day.  The  majority  of  foods,  from  the  breadstuff s  to 
the  canned  goods,  consumed  by  the  average  household,  is 
prepared  outside  of  the  home. 

ADULTERATION    OF   ANIMAL    PRODUCTS 

Flesh  foods  are  especially  predisposed  to  the  develop- 
ment of  ptomaines  and  other  poisons  resulting  from  a  mild 
degree  of  putrefaction.  These  foods  would  more  properly 
be  called  "  poisoned "  foods,  as  they  are  not  intentionally 
adulterated.  Various  diseases  owe  their  origin  to  the  eat- 
ing of  the  flesh  of  diseased  animals  —  animals  suffering 
from  tuberculosis,  tapeworm,  lumpy  jaw,  trichina,  etc.,  as 
well  as  animal  flesh  containing  various  microbes  which  pro- 
duce mischief  in  the  human  body. 

Preserved  meats.  Salted  meats  are  not  only  difficult  of 
digestion,  but  chemical  preservatives  are  frequently  added 
to  the  brine.  Smoked  meats  are  often  partly  cooked,  and 
cases  are  on  record  where  they  have  been  artificially  col- 
ored with  aniline  dyes.  The  so-called  "  embalmed  beef " 
is  pickled  or  preserved  by  certain  chemicals.  Various 
liquid  preservatives  have  been  used  in  this  way,  the  most 
common  of  which  is  boric  acid,  an  irritating  substance, 
producing  poisoning  symptoms  in  very  large  doses.  Eighty 
grains  to  the  gallon  has  been  found  to  kill  cats  within  four 
weeks.  Borax  (sodium  borate)  and  formaldehyde  have 
also  been  used  in  this  process  of  pickling  meats,  both  of 
which  are  injurious  to  the  digestive  system. 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS        133 

Sausage.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  sausage  is  adul- 
terated when  it  is  sold  in  the  open  market  from  one-half 
cent  to  one  cent  less  per  pound  than  the  swine  costs  on  the 
hoof.  The  North  Dakota  food  inspector  once  found  twenty 
to  forty  grains  of  boric  acid  to  the  pound  in  almost  every 
sausage  inspected.  The  common  adulterants  of  sausages  — 
some  harmful  and  others  harmless  —  are  such  substances  as 
mashed  potatoes,  cornmeal,  starch,  and  the  flesh  of  other 
animals,  while  they  are  flavored  with  various  spices,  col- 
ored by  artificial  dyes,  and  preserved  by  such  chemicals  as 
salicylic  acid,  borax,  and  boric  acid. 

Canned  meats.  Corned  beef  frequently  contains  chem- 
ical preservatives,  while  sardines  are  often  preserved  with 
cottonseed  oil  instead  of  olive  oil.  Artificial  dye  and 
salicylic  acid  are  commonly  found  in  canned  salmon.  Beef 
extract  and  beef  tea  are  usually  preserved  with  borax. 

Lard  and  mincemeat.  The  following  adulterants  have 
been  found  in  lard  examined  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try: Alum,  starch,  cottosuet,  cottolene,- cottonseed  oil  and, 
in  rare  instances,  lime.  Mincemeat  has  been  found  pre- 
served with  formaldehyde  and  sodium  sulphate,  both  drugs 
highly  irritant  to  the  body. 

Eggs.  Desiccated  egg  —  a  preparation  sold  to  bakers  in 
our  large  cities  —  is  made  from  rotten  eggs  or  from  old 
cold-storage  product.  Eggs  are  also  preserved  beyond 
reasonable  time  by  cold  storage  methods  and  by  treating 
them  with  shellac  or  painting  them  with  a  preparation  of 
silicate  of  soda. 

Fish  and  oyster  poisoning.  Serious  outbreaks  of  pto- 
maine poisoning  from  the  eating  of  fish  and  oysters,  are 
commonly  observed.  It  is  dangerous  to  eat  fish  which  has 
been  out  of  the  water  very  long,  and  especially  dangerous  to 
eat  it  more  than  twenty-four  hours  after  it  has  been  cooked. 
Boiled  crabs  are  very  quick  to  develop  poisonous  substances 
after  cooking.  Fatal  cases  of  mussel  poisoning  have  been 
frequently  reported,  as  well  as  snail  poisoning.  Many  of 
the  large  oyster  beds  are  located  near  the  sewer  outlet  of 


134  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

some  great  city,  and  this  no  doubt  accounts  for  the  varied 
symptoms  of  poisoning,  sometimes  extremely  serious,  which 
frequently  result  from  eating  oysters.  Typhoid  fever  is  also 
contracted  from  oysters. 

ADULTERATION  OF  DAIRY  PRODUCTS 

As  milk  is  a  food  so  largely  consumed  by  infants  and 
children,  its  adulteration  is  a  matter  of  serious  importance  — 
highly  criminal.  Most  of  the  States  require  that  pure  milk 
should  contain  about  12  per  cent  solids,  and  of  butter  fat 
at  least  3  per  cent,  and  that  cows  should  not  be  fed  on 
swill  or  slop. 

Milk  adulterants.  Milk  is  adulterated  by  skimming  or 
the  withholding  of  the  strippings,  producing  an  inferior 
quality.  This  is  a  crime  against  the  babies  who  are  com- 
pelled to  use  such  milk.  Watering  is  another  common 
method  of  adulteration.  Water  used  for  this  purpose  some- 
times conveys  typhoid  fever  and  other  disease  germs. 
Aniline  dyes  are  used  to  color  the  milk  artificially,  while 
poor  milk  is  thickened  with  such  substances  as  starch,  chalk, 
glue,  gelatine,  and  seaweed. 

Chemical  preservatives.  Among  the  common  milk-pre- 
servatives is  found  benzoic  acid,  a  substance  very  irritating 
to  the  organs  of  digestion  and  the  kidneys.  Salicylic  acid, 
another  product  which  prevents  the  action  of  the  digestive 
ferments,  deranging  the  stomach  and  kidneys,  is  also  used 
as  a  milk  preservative.  Another  common  preservative  is 
formaldehyde  (a  40  per  cent  solution  of  formaline) — a 
very  powerful  drug  which  has  a  tendency,  in  large  doses, 
to  destroy  the  red  blood  cells,  besides  being  an  intense  ir- 
ritant to  the  mucous  membrane.  Still  other  harmful  pre- 
servatives are  boric  acid,  borax,  and  sodium  carbonate. 

Milk  contaminations.  Milk  may  be  contaminated  by 
tuberculosis  —  either  the  germ  itself  or  the  toxins  of  the 
germ ;  by  anthrax ;  and  by  a  disease  of  cattle  contagious 
to  man,  called  actinomycosis.  The  milk  may  be  contami- 
nated in  handling.  Typhoid  fever,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever, 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS        135 

and  even  cholera  and  glanders  have  been  traced  to  this 
source. 

Milk  always  contains  a  large  number  of  harmless  bac- 
teria. Their  presence  is  not  to  be  seriously  regarded  un- 
less their  numbers  are  greatly  increased.  A  safe  standard 
for  milk  would  be  to  keep  the  germs  down  to  about  200,000 
per  cubic  centimetre,  one-quarter  teaspoonful.  Many  speci- 
mens of  city  milk  have  been  found  to  contain  from  three 
million  to  five  million  germs  per  cubic  centimetre.  Dirty 
milk  may  also  contain  yeast,  moulds,  blood,  pus,  and  other 
filth  such  as  dirt  and  manure. 

Cream.  The  average  legal  standard  for  cream  requires 
15  per  cent  fat,  but  much  cream  is  sold  that  is  below 
standard.  Like  milk,  cream  of  poor  quality  is  thickened 
by  means  of  artificial  substances  such  as  corn  starch  and 
gelatine,  while  it  is  artificially  colored  and  preserved  by 
the  same  substances  used  in  the  adulteration  of  milk. 

Butter.  The  average  State  pure-food  law  requires  that 
butter  should  contain  from  80  to  83  per  cent  milk  fat. 
It  is  adulterated  with  many  substances.  Such  harmless 
artificial  vegetable  coloring  as  annatto  and  saffron  are 
used,  as  well  as  the  harmful  mineral  coal-tar  dyes; 
methyl  orange  is  also  used  for  this  purpose. 

Butter  is  preserved  more  commonly  with  sodium  bicar- 
bonate and  benzoate  of  soda,  both  of  which  are  harmful  to 
the  stomach  and  intestines  when  long  used.  Butter  is  also 
adulterated  with  other  fats  such  as  cottolene,  lard,  suet, 
cottonseed  oil,  etc. 

The  average  melting  point  for  good  dairy  butter  is  96.6 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  If  butter  melts  much  below  this  point, 
it  indicates  the  addition  of  vegetable  oils;  while  a  high 
melting  point  indicates  animal  fats.  The  most  common  test 
for  butter  is  the  so-called  "  spoon  test " —  heating  butter 
over  a  flame  in  a  large  spoon.  Olemargarine,  adulterated 
butter,  and  re-processed  butter,  sputter  but  do  not  foam 
when  heated,  while  genuine  dairy  butter  foams  profusely, 
but  does  not  sputter. 

Renovated,    or    re-processed    butter    is    made    by    taking 


136  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

rancid  butter  and  neutralizing  the  acids  by  washing  with 
soda,  after  which  it  is  usually  churned  over  with  a  little 
fresh  milk  for  flavoring.  It  is  dyed  artificially,  and  sold  by 
unscrupulous  dealers  as  "  fresh  creamery  butter." 

Cheese.  Cheese  is  more  largely  adulterated  by  selling 
skim  milk  cheese  for  full  cream  cheese.  The  greatest 
danger  from  cheese  is  tyrotoxicon  and  ptomaine  poison- 
ing. 

Ice  cream.  The  common  adulterants  of  ice  cream  are 
condensed  milk  and  skim  milk,  while  it  is  thickened  with 
paraffine,  corn  starch,  and  flour.  Preservatives  and  color- 
ing substances  are  the  same  as  those  used  to  adulterate 
milk. 

The  frequent  cases  of  poisoning  from  ice  cream  eaten 
at  socials  and  elsewhere  is  due,  not  to  the  vanilla  extract 
or  other  ingredients,  but  to  the  putrefaction  of  the  milk, 
and  is  frequently  caused  by  the  same  germs  as  those  which 
produce  cheese  poisoning. 

Condensed  milk.  Many  brands  of  condensed  milk  are 
adulterated  with  sugar,  starch,  and  chemical  preservatives. 
Some  brands  of  milk  claiming  to  be  preserved  by  steriliza- 
tion only,  are  found  to  contain  chemicals. 

ADULTERATION   OF    CEREALS 

Whole  grain  products  are  sometimes  found  to  be  poisoned 
with  ergot  (smut  rye.)  Flours  are  less  frequently  adul- 
terated in  recent  years,  but  have  been  found  to  contain 
alum  —  a  substance  irritating  to  the  digestive  organs  and 
producing  constipation ;  also  ground  rice  and  terra  alba  have 
been  found  as  adulterants  in  flour.  Buckwheat  and  pan- 
cake flours  are  frequently  adulterated  with  cornmeal,  while 
the  majority  of  the  gluten  flours  sold  to-day  are  fraudulent 
in  that  they  contain  but  little  gluten  or  none  at  all  above  the 
average  flour.  Of  eight  samples  purchased  by  the  author 
sometime  ago  in  the  open  markets  of  Chicago,  but  one 
sample  was  found  to  be  genuine  or  in  accordance  with  the 
printed  claims  upon  the  package. 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS       137 

Breads  and  pastries.  Baker's  bread  is  frequently  adul- 
terated with  alum,  as  well  as  potato  flour  and  copper  sul- 
phate, while  the  loaf,  when  sold  fresh,  frequently  weighs 
more  than  it  should,  because  of  the  great  amount  of  water 
it  contains.  Pies  and  cakes  are  commonly  adulterated. 
Lemon  pie  is  made  with  a  starch  paste  filler  and  colored 
with  aniline  dyes.  Pumpkin  pies  are  made  of  flour  and 
starch  and  artificially  colored.  Some  time  ago  one  of  the 
Food  Inspectors  of  the  Chicago  Health  Department  told 
the  writer  that  about  one-half  of  the  pies  examined  were 
found  more  or  less  adulterated. 

Breakfast  foods,  etc.  Fortunately,  the  majority  of  the 
flake  breakfast  foods,  etc.,  upon  the  market  are  pure,  but  a 
large  number  of  package  foods  are  fraudulent  in  claims 
concerning  being  partially  or  wholly  cooked;  that  is,  they 
claim  to  require  little  or  no  cooking,  whereas  many  of  them 
have  been  barely  heated  —  sometimes  merely  run  through 
hot  rollers  —  and  in  reality  require  from  two  to  five  hours 
cooking.  A  good  many  "  health  food "  frauds  are  perpe- 
trated at  the  present  time;  all  these  foods  should  be  looked 
into  beyond  their  advertised  claims.  Macaroni  and  gluten 
are  frequently  fraudulent  in  that  they  are  made  from  cheap 
grades  of  wheat  low  in  protein. 

ADULTERATION    OF    CANNED   GOODS, 

A  source  of  slow  poisoning  in  canned  goods  is  from  the 
lead  contained  in  the  tin  cans.  The  author  has  seen  speci- 
mens of  tin  cans  containing  from  10  to  12  per  cent  of 
lead.  In  Germany  no  cans  are  allowed  to  be  manufactured 
which  contain  over  i  per  cent  of  lead.  The  acid  of  the 
foods  dissolves  a  portion  of  this  lead,  and  this  leads  to 
poisoning. 

Canned  goods  are  preserved  by  means  of  lead  nitrate 
and  copper  sulphate,  substances  both  highly  irritating  to 
the  system.  Certain  zinc  salts  are  also  occasionally  used, 
while  artificial  coloring  is  added  to  many  canned  goods, 
especially  tomatoes  and  peas.  Salicylic  acid  is  more  com- 


138  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

monly  used  in  canned  corn,  string  beans,  and  fruits.  Ben- 
zoic  acid  and  formaldehyde  have  also  been  detected. 

A  common  practice  among  large  dealers  in  foods  is  to 
"  re-process "  their  bad  canned  goods ;  that  is,  take  them 
out,  heat  them  over,  and  re-can  them.  Fifty  thousand  cans 
of  foods  were  recently  destroyed  by  the  Food  Inspectors 
in  one  establishment  in  Chicago,  which  were  about  to  be 
re-processed.  Another  form  of  food  fraud  is  to  soak  dried 
fruits,  can  them,  and  sell  them  for  fresh  canned  fruits. 

We  meet  with  occasional  cases  of  ptomaine  poisoning 
from  the  eating  of  canned  vegetables,  probably  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  vegetables  were  decaying  at  the  time  they 
were  canned,  or  to  the  leakage  of  the  can,  admitting  air 
and  permitting  of  subsequent  decay. 

ADULTERATION    OF   SUGAR   PRODUCTS 

The  adulteration  of  sugars,  and  especially  candy,  is  of 
great  interest  because  of  the  fondness  of  children  for  this 
particular  kind  of  food.  While  many  of  the  substances 
used  for  the  adulteration  of  candy  are  more  or  less  harm- 
less, many  others  are  unquestionably  harmful. 

Candy  adulterants.  Many  candies  are  colored  with  veg- 
etable coloring  matter  which  is  entirely  harmless;  in  others 
—  not  so  commonly  as  formerly  —  aniline  dyes  are  used. 
Aniline,  dyes  and  coal-tar  dyes  are  identical.  Some  of 
these  dyes  are  more  harmful  than  others.  Several  years 
ago,  a  manufacturer  of  cheap  candy  was  discovered  buy- 
ing red  paint  by  the  barrel.  The  majority  of  these  coal- 
tar  dyes,  if  given  in  large  doses,  produce  a  fall  of  temper- 
ature, collapse,  and  convulsions.  Some  of  these  dyes  will 
kill  a  guinea  pig  when  injected  in  amounts  of  only  one  ten- 
thousandth  of  the  body  weight. 

A  common  test  for  the  discovery  of  coal-tar  dyes  in 
candy  is  as  follows:  Dissolve  colored  candies  in  warm 
water  and,  after  adding  a  few  drops  of  hydrochloric  acid, 
boil  a  piece  of  white  flannel  or  other  woollen  cloth,  five 
minutes.  Remove  and  wash  in  clear  water.  If  the  coloring 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS        139 

is  "fast"  and  will  not  wash  out,  the  dye  is  artificial  (coal- 
tar);  if  the  color  washes  entirely  out  of  the  flannel,  the 
coloring  of  the  candy  is  vegetable  (harmless). 

Candy  is  not  only  flavored,  in  the  majority  of  instances, 
with  artificial  flavoring,  but  also  often  contains  other  adul- 
terants such  as  starch,  paraffine,  and  confection  —  a  white 
earthy  substance.  Glucose  is  frequently  found,  which  in 
itself  is  not  harmful,  but  when  carelessly  manufactured, 
often  contains  sulphuric  acid.  Saccharine,  or  chemical 
sugar,  is  used  in  the  place  of  cane  sugar,  while  talc,  soap- 
stone,  terra  alba,  ground  plaster  of  Paris,  and  chrome  yel- 
low (lead  chromate)  have  been  detected. 

Honey.  Honey  is  not  only  made  artificially,  but  is  fre- 
quently adulterated  with  glucose,  which  is  cheaper  than 
cane  sugar;  while  attempts  have  been  made  to  make  arti- 
ficial honeycomb  from  paraffine,  and  frequently  the  bees 
are  fed  on  beet  sugar  and  are  thus  made  unconscious  part- 
ners to  a  food  fraud. 

Syrups  and  molasses.  Sugar-cane  syrup  is  not  infre- 
quently adulterated  with  corn  syrup.  The  average  legal 
standard  for  maple  syrup  requires  that  not  over  35 
per  cent  of  water  should  be  present,  and  that  no  other  kind 
of  sugar  should  be  found.  Maple  sugar  is  adulterated  with 
cane  sugar,  glucose,  and  treacle.  The  entire  maple  sugar 
output  of  the  United  States  is  only  about  15  per  cent  of 
the  amount  of  sugar  that  is  sold  under  the  name  of  maple 
sugar. 

Sugar.  Cane  sugar  is  made  from  the  sugar  cane  plant 
and  beets.  Adulterants  which  have  been  occasionally  found 
in  sugar  are  such  as  marble-dust,  sand,  flour,  rice,  and  terra 
alba.  The  most  interesting  adulterant,  however,  of  sugar  is 
a  substance  known  as  garantose  or  saccharine.  This  is  a 
chemical  substance  which  can  hardly  be  called  a  food,  which 
is  extraordinarily  sweet.  You  can  taste  one  grain  of  it 
when  dissolved  in  one  gallon  of  water.  It  is  five  hundred 
and  fifty  times  sweeter  than  cane  sugar,  and  five  hundred 
dollars  worth  of  it  is  said  to  go  just  as  far  for  sweetening 


140  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

purposes  as  ten  thousand  dollars  worth  of  sugar.  It  prob- 
ably interferes  with  digestion,  and  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
wholesome  substitute  for  sugar. 

Jellies  and  jams.  Most  State  food  laws  require  that 
jellies  consist  only  of  boiled  fruit  juice  and  cane  sugar,  and 
yet  we  find  jelly  adulterated  with  glucose,  gelatine,  pump- 
kin pulp,  dextrine,  and  starch;  flavored  with  artificial  es- 
sences, and  colored  with  artificial  dyes;  and  to  make  the 
deception  all  the  more  complete,  not  infrequently  millet 
and  timothy  seeds  are  found  in  artificial  strawberry  jelly, 
etc.  Specimens  of  jelly  have  been  analyzed  which  contain 
not  a  particle  of  the  fruit  from  which  they  are  supposed  to 
be  made.  These  artificial  jellies  are  made  from  gelatine, 
glucose,  salicylic  acid,  millet  seeds,  aniline  dyes,  and  arti- 
ficial flavoring  —  cane  sugar  not  even  being  present. 

Jams  are  often  adulterated  with  pumpkin  pulp,  aniline 
dyes,  benzoic  acid,  as  well  as  being  made  out  of  refuse 
fruits  and  vegetables,  also  with  the  addition  of  timothy  and 
millet  seeds.  A  specimen  of  artificial  jam  analyzed  by  the 
author  several  years  ago,  was  found  to  consist  largely  of 
apple  parings,  timothy  seeds,  glucose,  coal-tar  dyes,  and 
salicylic  acid. 

ADULTERATION    OF    CONDIMENTS   AND   RELISHES. 

Before  the  enactment  of  the  Federal  pure-food  law,  it 
was  a  very  common  practice  to  adulterate  condiments,  rel- 
ishes, etc.,  but  this  practice  has  declined  greatly  as  the  re- 
sult of  food  legislation. 

Condiments.  The  reports  of  the  various  State  chemists 
show  that  condiments  have  been  adulterated  as  follows: 

Allspice :  Adulterated  with  mustard,  starch,  ground 
cocoa  shells  and  prune  stones. 

Mustard:  Adulterated  with  starch,  flour,  phosphates,  sul- 
phates, and  colored  with  turmeric  root. 

Cloves:  Adulterated  with  sand,  starch,  iron  filings, 
wheat  middlings,  sawdust,  and  sandalwood. 


POISONED  AND  ADULTERATED  FOODS        141 

Pepper:  Adulterated  with  ground  olive  stones,  shells, 
pea-meal,  corn  starch,  sand,  and  iron  dust. 

Ginger:  Adulterated  with  sulphite  of  lime,  rice,  flour, 
and  bran. 

Cinnamon :  (Cassia  —  there  is  but  little  genuine  cinnamon 
on  the  market.)  Adulterated  with  bran  and  sandalwood. 

Pickles  and  vinegar.  Pickles  have  been  adulterated  with 
alum  and  copper  sulphate,  while  vinegar  is  very  commonly 
adulterated.  The  usual  legal  standard  requires  4  per 
cent  pure  acetic  acid,  with  no  coloring  matter.  Cheap  arti- 
ficial vinegar  has  been  made  from  inferior  vinegar,  hydro- 
chloric and  sulphuric  acids,  with  the  addition  of  water  and 
burnt  sugar,  and  is  said  to  cost  about  one  dollar  a  barrel. 

Tomato  catsup.  Tomato  catsup  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
monly adulterated  of  the  ordinary  relishes.  It  has  been 
found  to  contain  saccharine,  sodium  benzoate,  aniline  dyes, 
benzoic  acid,  turmeric  root,  mustard,  starch,  potato,  and 
squash.  The  Nebraska  State  Chemist  found  thirty  different 
samples  of  tomato  catsup  to  consist  of  the  following:  pump- 
kin, coal-tar  dyes,  benzoic  acid,  and  timothy  seeds  —  not  a 
trace  of  tomato  to  be  found  in  any  of  them. 

Olive  oil  and  flavoring  extracts.  Olive  oil  is  very  com- 
monly adulterated  with  cottonseed  oil  and  corn  oil.  Flavor- 
ing extracts  are  very  frequently  adulterated.  There  are 
certain  extracts  which  may  be  regarded  as  always  artificial 
—  banana,  raspberry,  wild  cherry,  blackberry,  and  straw- 
berry. The  common  adulterants  used  for  extracts  are  ani- 
line dyes,  wood  alcohol,  and  coloring  substances  such  as 
caramel,  dinitro-cresol,  tropcelin,  etc.  Lemon  extract  is  fre- 
quently adulterated  with  citrus  or  lemon-grass.  A  sample 
of  artificial  extract  which  was  purchased  for  pineapple  ex- 
tract, showed  by  analysis  to  be  composed  of 

Chloroform    i  part. 

Aldehyde  I      " 

Ethyl-butyrate     5  parts. 

Amyl-butyrate   10      " 

Glycerine  3      " 


142  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ADULTERATION    OF   BEVERAGES   AND    MEDICINES 

Chocolate  and  cocoa  are  among  the  beverages  most  com- 
monly adulterated,  and  for  such  purposes  use  has  been  made 
of  flour,  sugar,  wheat,  starch,  animal  foods,  oxide  of  iron, 
terra  alba,  arrowroot  starch,  potato  starch,  and  corn  starch. 
There  is  also  a  slight  danger  of  lead  contamination  from  tin- 
foil, when  it  is  directly  in  contact  with  chocolate. 

Tea  and  coffee.  Tea  has  been  found  adulterated  with 
gypsum,  china  clay,  soapstone,  sand,  also  ash  and  willow 
leaves;  while  coffee  has  been  adulterated  with  such  harmless 
substances  as  acorns,  cereals,  figs,  etc.  We  have  also  heard 
of  clay  coffee  beans,  while  chicory  is  a  common  adulterant 
of  coffee  and  cannot  be  regarded  as  wholesome. 

Soft  drinks.  Fruit  juices  are  frequently  or  wholly  arti- 
ficial. Salicylic  and  benzoic  acids  are  used  as  preservatives, 
and  aniline  dyes  for  coloring.  Much  of  the  soda  and  min- 
eral water  on  the  market  is  artificial,  being  made  in  the  lab- 
oratory. 

Medicines.  In  this  connection,  much  could  be  said  con- 
cerning the  harmfulness  of  patent  medicines  and  other  se- 
cret nostrums,  but  space  will  not  permit ;  suffice  it  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  even  a  physician's  prescription  is  not 
always  honestly  compounded  for  the  patient.  Some  time 
ago,  investigators  for  a  certain  State  Board  of  Pharmacy 
made  a  test  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  prescriptions, 
twenty-three  of  which  contained  not  a  trace  of  the  drug 
called  for,  sixty-six  were  80  per  cent  impure,  and  ten  were 
20  per  cent  impure.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such  conditions  as 
these  will  improve. 

The  pure-food  law  has  done  much  to  lessen  the  sale  of 
alcohol,  cocaine,  and  other  compounds  containing  habit- 
producing  drugs,  inasmuch  as  it  compels  the  honest  labelling 
of  compounds  containing  these  substances.  It  is  no  longer 
necessary  to  take  these  enslaving  drugs  in  ignorance,  as 
preparations  containing  them  have  it  stated  plainly  upon 
package  or  bottle  label. 


CHAPTER  XI 
SIMPLE  EATING,  OR  THE  NOURISHED  LIFE 

THE  BALANCED  RATION. —  THOROUGH  MASTICATION. —  THE  APPE- 
TITE.—  THE  COOKING  PROBLEM. —  RAW  FOODS. —  MEAL  HOURS. — 
THE  MENTAL  STATE. —  FOOD  COMBINATIONS. —  GOOD  COMBINA- 
TIONS.—  FAIR  COMBINATIONS. —  BAD  COMBINATIONS. —  SPECIAL 

DIET  LISTS. 

IT  is  literally  true  that  we  are  made  from  what  we  eat. 
The  indifference  of  the  American  people  to  the  science 
and  art  of  eating  is  truly  amazing.  For  purely  commercial 
reasons,  some  have  given  earnest  study  to  scientific  cattle- 
feeding,  but  there  are  very  few  people  in  this  country  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  scientific  self-feeding. 
Thousands  of  dollars  are  spent  by  the  Government  to  pro- 
mote the  health  of  hogs  and  advance  the  science  of  cattle- 
feeding,  but  not  a  cent  to  preserve  the  lives  and  promote  the 
science  of  baby-feeding. 

THE   BALANCED   RATION 

Good  digestion  and  sound  health  demand  that  our. daily 
ration  should  be  fairly  well  balanced.  That  is,  our  meals 
should  not  consist  altogether  of  starchy  foods  or  sugar,  nor 
should  they  be  composed  exclusively  of  proteins  —  nitrog- 
enous foods.  In  harmony  with  the  principles  outlined  in 
the  chapter  on  Nutrition,  there  should  be  a  balancing  of  the 
bill  of  fare,  so  that  the  various  food  elements  which  are  re- 
quired to  nourish  the  body  and  to  furnish  the  heat  and 
energy,  may  be  proportionately  present  in  the  food  eaten. 

To  illustrate,  one  would  not  want  to  make  a  meal  of 
meat,  potatoes,  bread  and  butter,  with  beans  and  cheese 
added.  This  would  afford  altogether  too  much  protein. 
Neither  should  a  meal  consist  entirely  of  fruit  and  veg- 

143 


144  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

etables.  There  would  be  then  a  deficiency  both  of  protein 
and  fat.  Rice,  fruit,  and  nuts  would  produce  a  pretty  well 
balanced  bill  of  fare  for  a  single  meal.  There  is  great 
danger  of  eating  too  many  nuts  at  a  time,  as  they  are  highly 
concentrated.  They  are  used  in  the  place  of  legumes,  meat, 
and  eggs.  There  is  also  great  danger  of  eating  too  great  a 
quantity  of  dried  beans  and  peas. 

By  careful  study  of  the  tables  in  the  chapter  on  Nu- 
trition, the  amount  of  food  required  for  a  person  of  given 
height  and  weight  cap  be  readily  ascertained,  and  then  by 
reference  to  the  food  tables  found  at  the  back  of  the  book, 
the  amount  of  either  raw  or  cooked  foods  which  will  be 
required  to  supply  the  desired  number  of  calories  for  each 
meal,  will  appear  at  once.  A  further  study  of  the  food 
tables  will  make  it  plain  just  what  combination  of  foods 
at  one's  disposal  will  properly  balance  the  bill  of  fare 
so  as  to  provide  the  desired  amount  of  protein,  fat, 
carbohydrates,  etc.  The  salt  and  cellulose  will  take  care 
of  themselves  except  in  such  cases  as  children  with  rickets, 
who  probably  require  an  extra  amount  of  salts,  or  in  cases 
of  chronic  constipation,  which  make  it  wise  to  provide  food 
with  considerable  of  cellulose. 

THOROUGH    MASTICATION 

Proper  chewing  is  the  great  secret  of  good  digestion. 
Many  persons  in  robust  health  are  able  to  bolt  their  food 
regularly  for  years  without  discerning  symptoms  of  dyspep- 
sia, but  all  the  while  indigestion  and  dyspepsia  in  some 
form  await  them,  as  it  were,  disguised  around  the  corner, 
and  sooner  or  later  they  will  recognize  the  painful  protest 
of  the  long-abused  stomach. 

Of  the  many  fads  and  fancies  of  the  present  generation 
regarding  diet,  there  is  one  that  probably  has  come  to  stay, 
and  that  is  the  recent  agitation  looking  toward  a  more  thor- 
ough mastication  of  the  food,  commonly  called  "  Fletcher- 
izing,"  in  honor  of  that  extraordinary  layman,  Mr.  Horace 
Fletcher,  who,  by  his  unaided  efforts  and  his  phenomenal 
personal  experience,  has  succeeded  in  directing  the  attention 


SIMPLE  EATING  145 

of  the  scientific  and  medical  world  to  his  remarkable  claims 
of  increased  health  and  nutrition  and  the  cure  of  his  chronic 
dyspepsia,  as  a  result  of  thorough  mastication. 

We  are  aware  that  physicians  have  arisen  to  condemn  the 
practice  of  prolonged  mastication  as  injurious  to  the  health, 
productive  of  constipation,  and  various  other  diseases  of 
digestion  and  nutrition.  The  author  is  free  to  admit  that 
while  he  does  not  believe  in  mastication  as  a  fetish,  as  a 
cure-all,  or  as  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  hygiene  of  di- 
gestion, he  recognizes  "  Fletcherism "  as  one  of  the  great 
factors  in  the  cure  of  dyspepsia,  and  recognizes  its  great 
advantages  in  the  treatment  of  stomach  disorders.  At  the 
same  time,  he  recognizes  the  disadvantage  of  immoderately 
dwelling  upon  mastication  as  a  table  topic,  and  otherwise 
keeping  the  mind  concentrated  upon  any  phase  of  the  proc- 
ess of  digestion. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  mastication  can  be  overdone; 
that  too  little  food  can  be  eaten.  The  teaching  that  all 
food  which  cannot  be  completely  liquefied  in  the  mouth 
should  be  rejected,  and  that  only  purely  liquid  portions 
should  be  swallowed,  is  certainly  extreme.  The  author  be- 
lieves in  rational,  thorough,  simple  mastication,  but  not  in 
any  such  extreme  teachings  as  would  lead  to  the  rejection 
of  every  bit  of  fruit,  vegetable,  or  cereal  pulp  that  cannot 
be  completely  liquefied.  Some  people  seem  to  do  well  on 
the  practice  of  rejecting  the  cellulose  pulp  of  the  fruits  and 
vegetables.  Others  suffer  more  or  less  from  intestinal  in- 
activity when  undertaking  to  carry  out  this  plan  of  eating. 
We  concede  that  the  theory  of  doing  without  cellulose, 
like  that  of  doing  without  butter,  is  all  right  in  itself, 
but  the  actual  facts  seem  to  indicate  —  as  certain  experi- 
ments also  suggest  —  that  a  certain  amount  of  bulk  in  the 
food  favors  intestinal  activity,  especially  in  the  case  of 
those  who  are  predisposed  to  sluggishness  of  the  bowel. 
We  urge  upon  all  thorough  mastication  as  a  scientific  pre- 
requisite to  good  digestion,  and  while  some  physicians  or 
lay-enthusiasts  may  have  seized  upon  this  important  physical 
truth  and  carried  it  to  extremes,  we  feel  none  the  less  en- 


146  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

thusiastic  about  real  physiologic  mastication  of  food,  or 
"  Fletcherism  "  as  we  understand  and  practise  it. 

We  do  not  believe  in  any  rule  or  set  regulation  for  chew- 
ing food  a  certain  number  of  times  or  anything  of  that  kind. 
^While  there  is  an  occasional  person  whose  health  and  diges- 
ti&h*  Pigm^be  interfepd^with  by  over-mastication  and  con- 
'sequent  unde.r-eatgnig',  we  feel  that  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hun- 
dred of  those  with  healthy  or  sick  stomachs  would  have  their 
health  and  nutrition  greatly  improved  by  employing  more 
mastication  than  is  generally  practised. 

The  advantages  of  thorough  mastication  may  be  briefly 
summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Mouth   digestion   is   the   only  part  of  the  process   of 
human   digestion   and   metabolism   which   the   man   himself 
controls.     If  we  start  our  food  right  in  the  mouth,  where 
we  control  the  muscles  and  are,  therefore,  responsible   for 
digestion,  Nature,  all  things  being  equal,  will  carry  on  the 
rest  of  the  process  with  her  customary  accuracy  and  faith- 
ful attention  to  every  detail. 

2.  While  some  species  of  serpents  or  crocodiles  may  have 
rudimentary    teeth    in    the    throat,    man    has    no    grinding 
mechanism  below  the  mouth.     Food  that  is  not  masticated 
properly  in  the  mouth  will  greatly  delay  digestion,  as  the 
stomach   ordinarily   allows   no   solid   food  to   pass   its   por- 
tals unless  it  has  become  thoroughly  exhausted  with  pre- 
vious efforts  to  empty  itself  when  overloaded,  or  filled  with 
unmasticated  food. 

3.  The    fundamental   principle    connected    with    the    new 
science    of   mastication,    is   that   all   solid    foods   should    be 
liquefied  as   far  as  possible  before  swallowing.     This  does 
not  mean   that   all   foods  —  such   as   fruits  and  other   sub- 
stances  containing   cellulose  —  should   be   converted   into   a 
water-like   liquid,   but   rather   that  the   food   in   the   mouth 
should  be  converted  into  a  liquid  or  semi-liquid,  pasty  mass, 
in  which  all  solid  particles  have  been  finely  subdivided  and 
thus  prepared  for  the  action  of  the  gastric  juice  when  swal- 
lowed into  the  stomach. 


SIMPLE  EATING  147 

4.  Another  cardinal  principle  of  the  new  science  of  mas- 
tication is  that  most  natural  foods,  being  of  an  acid  flavor, 
should  be  retained  in  the  mouth  a  sufficient  length  of  time 
to   become  more  or  less   alkalinized  by  the   action  of  the 
alkaline   saliva.    This   is   especially  the   case   with  persons 
suffering  from  acid  dyspepsia,  sour  stomach,  etc. 

5.  Another  important  object  of  liquefying  the  food  in  the 
mouth   is   that   the   flavoring   substances   may   become   dis- 
solved, so  as  to  be  able  to  circulate  around  the  taste-buds 
at  the  base  of  the  tongue;  for  the  proper  digestion  of  food 
in  the  stomach,  the  secretion  of  the  gastric  juice    etc.,  are 
largely  dependent  upon  the  taste  of  the  food  in  the  mouth. 

(F'g-  I5-) 

6.  Starch    is   digested   by   saliva.    The   mouth   is   a   real 
organ    of   digestion.     The    food    should    remain    in   it   long 
enough  to  permit  this  starch-digestion  to  be  thoroughly  be- 
gun. 

7.  Thorough  mastication  is  the  one  sure  way  to  prevent 
overeating  —  in  fact,  the  only  safe  way.    When,  as  the  re- 
sult of  proper  mastication,   all   food  is  tasted  preparatory 
to  being  swallowed,  Nature  will  remove  the  appetite  when  a 
sufficient  amount  of  food  has  been  eaten. 

8.  If  you  "  Fletcherize "  your  food  properly,  your  taste 
will   become   more   and   more   reliable   in   the   selection  of 
proper    foods.     The   more   one   chews   his    food,   the   more 
natural  becomes  his  taste  and  appetite. 

9.  Thorough    mastication    renders    all    the    rest    of    the 
processes  of  digestion  and  assimilation  easier,  and  accord- 
ingly promotes  the  entire  process  of  bodily  nutrition. 

10.  The  gastric  juice  penetrates  solid  food  at  the  rate  of 
only  one  millimetre  (1-25  of  an  inch)  an  hour.    Therefore, 
insufficient  mastication  must  surely  delay  the  process  of  di- 
gestion. 

n.  If  all  food  eaten  —  liquids  as  well  as  solids  (except 
water) — is  properly  "  Fletcherized,"  one  will  gradually 
lose  the  taste  for  the  great  majority  of  foods  and  bev- 
erages which  are  injurious  and  unwholesome. 


148  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

THE   APPETITE 

A  good  appetite  ordinarily  is  evidence  of  good  digestion. 
The  digestion  is  seldom  good  when  the  appetite  is  poor. 
If  you  have  a  poor  appetite,  the  thing  of  first  importance 
is  to  look  yourself  over  and  find  out  what  you  can  do  to 
get  a  good,  sharp,  keen  appetite  for  food.  Are  you  getting 
a  proper  amount  of  physical  exercise?  Do  you  drink  a 
sufficient  amount  of  water?  Take  an  inventory  of  your 
physical  habits,  and  do  not  rest  satisfied  until  you  have 
gotten  that  greatest  of  all  food  sauces  —  a  good  appetite. 
And  just  in  proportion  as  you  improve  your  appetite,  you 
will  find  that  you  are  improving  your  digestion.  Appetite 
is,  therefore,  not  only  the  call  of  the  nervous  system  — 
Nature's  demand  for  food  —  but  it  is  also  the  system's 
promise  to  digest  and  assimilate  properly  the  food  that  is 
eaten  in  response  to  its  call. 

In  the  chapter  on  Digestion,  attention  was  called  to  the 
fact  that  appetite  plays  an  important  role  in  the  secretion 
of  the  gastric  juice,  so  much  so  that  the  juice  present  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  digestion  has  come  to  be  known  as 
"  appetite  juice." 

Certain  stomach  bitters  and  alcoholic  beverages  improve 
the  appetite  and,  by  increasing  the  "  appetite  juice,"  are 
able  temporarily  to  improve  the  digestion.  Alcohol  prob- 
ably accomplishes  its  deceptive  work  along  these  lines  by 
lessening  mental  anxiety  and  producing  a  more  comfortable 
and  peaceful  state  of  mind  at  meal  time.  These  are  false 
methods  of  creating  a  good  appetite,  and  while  they  confer 
transitory  help  in  this  direction,  in  the  end  the  appetite  will 
be  found  all  the  worse  for  this  medical  abuse.  In  the  same 
manner,  many  of  the  harmful  condiments  and  relishes  may 
improve  the  appetite,  thereby  aiding  digestion  for  the  time 
being,  but  at  the  expense  of  irritating  and  congesting  the 
digestive  system,  and  laying  the  foundation  for  catarrh  and 
other  diseased  conditions. 

The  human  appetite  will  probably  never  become  a  wholly 
safe  guide  in  the  wise  and  hygienic  selection  of  food,  be- 


SIMPLE  EATING  149 

ing  a  highly  specialized  nervous  function  and  subject  to 
so  many  disturbing  influences,  as  well  as  being  so  largely 
a  creature  of  education  and  habit.  It  will  probably  be 
found  necessary  constantly  to  guide  and  correct  its  choice 
by  the  higher  centres  of  human  reason  and  scientific  judg- 
ment. 

THE   COOKING   PROBLEM 

The  cook-stove  is  a  great  blessing  to  modern  civilization. 
Especially  is  it  of  value  in  the  preparation  of  starches, 
which  must  be  either  thoroughly  boiled  or  baked,  in  order 
to  be  easily  digested.  But  we  must  recognize  that  there  is 
an  abuse  as  well  as  a  use  of  the  cook-stove,  as  there  are 
vast  numbers  of  foods  which  to-day  are  so  carefully  and 
elaborately  cooked,  which  would  be  just  as  wholesome  raw; 
in  fact,  many  of  them  would  be  more  easy  of  digestion. 
Much  of  our  modern  cooking  and  mixing  of  food  together 
renders  it  more  difficult  of  digestion  and  assimilation,  in- 
stead of  increasing  its  nutritional  value.  At  present,  the 
cook-stove  is  being  greatly  over-used,  for,  as  a  rule,  the 
more  simple  the  cooking,  the  more  likely  the  food  will 
have  its  value  increased  from  a  health  standpoint. 

Certain  scientific  principles  involved  in  cooking  are  but 
little  understood.  Much  as  we  would  like  to  discuss  this 
subject  at  length,  it  cannot  be  done  here.  We  desire,  how- 
ever, to  emphasize  that  the  cook  should  be  a  person  of 
scientific  training.  Of  all  the  household  servants,  human 
health  and  happiness  demands,  on  the  part  of  the  cook,  the 
greatest  intelligence,  together  with  such  thorc'igh  under- 
standing of  foodstuffs  as  will  enable  her  properly  tc  combine 
and  prepare  the  daily  ration.  The  cook  should  know  the 
nutritive  value  of  foods,  heat-producing  qualities,  good  and 
bad  combinations,  and  also  the  protein  content  of  various 
foods,  that  each  meal  may  be  fairly  well  balanced  in  this 
respect.  But  like  the  science  of  eating,  the  science  of 
cooking  is  just  dawning,  and  the  cooks  of  the  well-regu- 
lated household  in  the  coming  generation,  will  not  be  the 


150  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

untutored  immigrants  or  the  ignorant  natives  who  have 
been  unable  to  secure  other  employment. 

Cooking  is  a  science  —  yea,  an  art  —  and  it  is  because  it 
is  so  miserably  practised  to-day,  that  many  kitchens  could 
truly  be  denominated  the  "  vestibules  of  the  saloon,"  and 
the  cook  charged  with  being  unconsciously,  but  none  the 
less  practically,  in  partnership  with  the  saloon-keeper  and 
the  undertaker. 

The  original  diet  of  primitive  man  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  great  simplicity.  The  aborigines  subsisted  largely  upon 
a  simple  diet  of  cereals,  fruits,  and  nuts.  The  cooking  prob- 
lem in  such  a  diet  is  very  simple  —  merely  a  matter  of  boil- 
ing and  baking  the  starches  and  breadstuffs,  as  both  fruits 
and  nuts  when  ripe  are  very  properly  eaten  in  the  raw 
state.  (Fig.  16.)  The  addition  of  flesh  to  the  dietary  and 
the  preparation  of  the  thousand  and  one  special  dishes,  has 
enormously  complicated  the  problem  of  cookery,  much  to 
the  distress  of  the  average  stomach  and  the  disturbance  of 
the  health  and  happiness  of  the  race. 

RAW    FOODS 

Eat  some  fresh,  raw  food  each  day.  At  least  at  one 
meal,  eat  something  which  is  uncooked.  We  do  not  for 
a  moment  believe  in  or  advocate  the  "  raw  food "  fads  of 
the  day.  The  raw  food  system  is  all  right  until  it  touches 
the  cereals.  The  eating  of  raw  starches  is  about  the  most 
unscientific  dietetic  fad  which  has  arisen  in  our  day.  We 
have  shown  before  that  all  starches  should  be  cooked  be- 
fore being  eaten.  The  longer  they  are  cooked,  the  better ; 
but  all  ripe  fruits,  many  vegetables,  and  most  nuts,  are  better 
eaten  raw. 

If  one  cannot  get  good,  raw,  fresh  food  in  the  form  of' 
fresh  fruits,  vegetables,  or  nuts,  the  next  best  thing  is  the 
dried  fruits.  Raisins,  figs,  dates,  or  even  prunes,  are  ex- 
cellent eaten  raw.  Of  course,  prunes  should  be  soaked  be- 
fore they  are  eaten.  Both  raisins  and  prunes  are  excellent 
stewed,  but  if  there  is  a  scarcity  of  fruits  or  vegetables, 


5 t arch 


Conked  5farch 


Fl  G.  1 6.  -    5  ho  win^j  effect  of  cooking  on  starch  granules'. 


SIMPLE  EATING  151 

we  would  suggest  the  eating  of  these  foods  uncooked.  Ap- 
ples and  oranges  are  ideal  fresh  foods. 

Certain  digestive  principles  very  valuable  to  the  processes 
of  digestion  and  assimilation  are  found  in  many  raw  foods, 
which  are  destroyed  by  the  process  of  cooking.  The  baked 
apple  cannot  resist  the  growth  of  germs  as  well  as  the 
raw  apple.  Boiled  milk  is  probably  better  for  the  health 
under  certain  conditions,  because  disease  germs  are  killed 
by  the  boiling;  nevertheless,  the  boiling  kills  certain  di- 
gestive ferments  or  enzymes  found  in  the  raw  milk.  This 
is  the  reason  for  Pasteurizing  milk  instead  of  boiling  it. 
Heating  milk  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  degrees 
for  twenty  minutes,  kills  or  cripples  the  greater  number 
of  the  germs,  but  does  not  destroy  this  important  digestive 
ferment. 

It  is  for  the  sake  of  securing  these  natural  enzymes  or 
digestive  ferments  as  an  aid  to  digestion  and  nutrition, 
that  we  advise  the  eating  of  some  raw,  fresh  food  at  least 
once  a  day.  There  is  little  excuse  for  not  having  abundance 
of  fresh,  uncooked  food  during  the  summer  season,  and 
by  a  little  planning,  it  will  be  possible  to  have  at  least  some 
dried  or  canned  fruits  during  the  winter. 

MEAL   HOURS. 

Those  having  regular  hours  of  work  will  find  it  best  to 
take  their  meals  at  regular  hours.  Regularity  and  period- 
icity constitute  one  of  the  supreme  laws  of  Nature.  But 
notwithstanding  this,  it  is  certainly  a  mistake  to  eat  a 
hearty  meal  when  one  is  not  hungry,  just  because  it  is 
meal  time.  If  the  appetite  were  normal  and  natural,  it 
would  probably  be  a  safe  guide  to  tell  us  when  to  eat  as 
well  as  what  to  eat,  but  appetite,  being  an  expression  of 
the  nervous  system,  is  more  or  less  a  creature  of  education. 
We  can  train  our  appetites  into  right  or  wrong  habits  or 
tastes.  This  one  thing  we  are  quite  sure  of  —  if  one  is  ex- 
traordinarily hungry  and  has  not  eaten  within  six  or  eight 
hours,  the  digestion  is  pretty  sure  to  be  good,  and  if  reason- 


152  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

able  judgment  be  exercised  in  choosing  the  food  eaten,  there 
is  little  likelihood  of  having  indigestion  or  other  trouble 
from  the  meal,  even  though  eaten  at  irregular  hours  or 
quite  late  in  the  evening. 

Always  keep  the  appetite  and  the  sense  of  taste  under  the 
censorship  and  watchful  care  of  enlightened  reason  and 
judgment.  Through  hereditary  influence,  false  training, 
etc.,  the  average  sense  of  taste  is  far  from  being  nat- 
ural and  normal;  and  while  we  constantly  seek  so  to 
train  our  appetite  that  it  shall  express  the  real  needs  and 
demands  of  the  body,  at  the  same  time  it  behooves  us 
closely  to  scrutinize  its  choosings  during  the  period  of  its  re- 
education. 

The  arrangement  of  meal  hours  is  always  somewhat  in- 
fluenced by  the  employment  and  other  demands  upon  the 
individual's  time.  If  three  meals  a  day  are  eaten,  it  will 
be  found  best  to  make  one  of  the  meals  rather  light  — 
let  it  consist  largely  of  fruit  and  other  simple  foods  easy 
of  digestion. 

If  two  meals  only  are  eaten,  they  will  both  be  fairly 
hearty,  and  if  it  is  possible  to  choose  the  meal  hours,  we 
would  suggest  about  nine  o'clock  for  breakfast  and  five 
o'clock  for  dinner.  We  recognize  that  the  vast  majority  of 
people  cannot  eat  at  these  hours.  The  author  is  unable  to 
get  his  meals  at  such  ideal  hours,  and  has,  therefore,  for 
many  years  practically  adopted  the  no-breakfast  plan  — 
eating  near  the  middle  of  the  day  and  again  at  six  o'clock, 
when  reaching  home  from  the  day's  work  at  medical  office, 
hospital,  etc. 

It  is  a  fact  of  unusual  significance  that  while  science  is 
rapidly  gaining  the  conquest  of  the  majority  of  the  con- 
tagious or  so-called  "  germ-caused "  diseases,  at  the  same 
time,  the  diseases  due  to  errors  of  diet  and  nutrition  —  to 
evils  of  indigestion  and  faulty  metabolism  —  are  enormously 
on  the  increase,  including  such  diseases  as  dyspepsia,  con- 
stipation, neurasthenia,  Bright's  disease,  diabetes,  rheuma- 
tism, appendicitis,  liver  diseases,  cancer,  etc. 


SIMPLE  EATING  153 

THE    MENTAL   STATE 

Pawlow  showed  the  process  of  digestion  to  be  regulated 
largely  by  the  mental  state,  as  well  as  by  the  sense  of 
taste.  One  who  is  in  a  bad  state  of  mind,  having  a  sour 
disposition,  is  quite  likely  to  have  a  sour  stomach.  The 
enjoyment  of  food,  the  degree  of  hunger,  the  pleasure  of 
eating,  the  freedom  of  the  mind  from  care,  worry,  and  grief, 
all  contribute  mightily  to  healthy  digestion  and  to  the  pre- 
vention of  dyspepsia,  with  all  its  train  of  woes  and  suffer- 
ing. 

An  effort  should  be  made  to  make  the  meal  hour  the  most 
pleasant  of  the  day.  If  you  are  eating  alone,  in  public  res- 
taurants, under  no  circumstances  should  you  indulge  taxing 
and  troublesome  thoughts.  Lay  your  mental  work  and 
plans  aside;  let  the  meal  hour  be  devoted  to  the  pleasure 
of  eating,  to  the  intelligent  gratification  of  appetite,  to  the 
full  and  free  enjoyment  of  the  food.  Meal  time  is  no  place 
to  discuss  diet  or  food  tables,  or  even  to  think  of  them. 
Give  these  matters  attention  before  the  time  of  eating,  and 
let  the  hour  at  the  table  be  one  of  good  cheer  and  social 
intercourse.  Dismiss  all  problems,  all  attempts  at  family- 
regulation  and  child-training.  Let  the  table  topics  run  along 
the  lighter  vein  of  life,  for  laughter  is  a  barometer  not  only 
of  mental  happiness,  but  also  of  physical  health. 

FOOD   COMBINATIONS 

Combinations  of  all  classes  of  foods  are  fairly  well  di- 
gested by  persons  with  strong  stomachs,  especially  if  they 
thoroughly  masticate  their  food.  On  the  other  hand,  those 
with  crippled  digestive  powers,  especially  those  suffering 
from  stomach  indigestion,  will  find  it  important  to  give  care- 
ful attention  to  the  food  combination  at  the  table.  Even 
people  with  strong  stomachs  and  good  digestion,  unless  they 
most  carefully  and  thoroughly  masticate  their  food,  will 
discover  that  certain  articles  of  diet  disagree  with  them 
when  eaten  in  connection  with  certain  other  foods. 


154  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

In  the  treatment  of  stomach  disorders,  the  question  of 
proper  and  improper  food  combinations  is  highly  important. 
While  the  question  of  individual  peculiarity  has  much  to 
do  with  the  matter  of  food  combinations,  there  are  certain 
general  principles  of  quite  universal  application. 

Without  going  into  detail,  the  following  classification  in- 
dicates good,  fair,  and  bad  combinations: 

GOOD    COMBINATIONS 

Fruits  and  Grains.  Grains  and  Milk. 

Grains  and  Meat  or  Eggs.  Grains  and  Vegetables. 

Grains  and  Nuts.  Grains  and  Legumes. 

FAIR   COMBINATIONS 
Grains  with  sweet  Fruits  and  Milk 
Meat  or  Eggs  with  Vegetables. 
Nuts  and  Vegetables. 

BAD    COMBINATIONS 

Fruits  and  Vegetables.  Sour  Fruits  and  Milk. 

Milk  and  Vegetables.  Milk  and  Meat. 

SPECIAL   DIET   LISTS 

While  the  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  present  the  hygienic 
management  of  the  healthy  stomach  and  to  discuss  diet  as 
related  to  normal  digestion,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place,  at  the 
close  of  this  chapter,  to  present  certain  lists  of  foods  which 
are  especially  adapted  to  meeting  and  treating  a  number  of 
common  disorders  of  digestion  and  nutrition. 

I.  Peptogenic  foods  —  those  which  increase  the  secretion 
of  gastric  juice.  To  be  used  in  poor  appetite  and  slow  di- 
gestion. 

1.  Concentrated  fruit  sugars. 

Malt  preparations,  prunes,  figs,  raisins,  dates, 
dried  sweet  fruits. 

2.  Concentrated  fresh  fruit  juices. 

Apple  juice,  blackberry  juice,  blueberry  juice, 
grape  juice,  orange  juice,  peach  juice,  pear 
juice,  pineapple  juice,  plum  juice,  raspberry 
juice,  strawberry  juice. 


SIMPLE  EATING  155 

3.  Concentrated  vegetable  juices. 

Soups  and  broths  of  the  following  vegetables: 
Asparagus,  beans,  celery,  peas,  corn,  potato, 
spinach,  tomato,  carrots. 

4.  Well  dextrinized  (baked  or  toasted)  cereals. 

Zwieback  or  toasted  bread,  toasted  crackers, 
well-parched  corn,  toasted  flaked  cereals,  thor- 
oughly baked  mushes,  browned  rice. 

5.  Meat  broths. 

II.  Foods    which    lessen   the    secretion    of    gastric    juice. 
Indicated  in  all  cases  of  hyperacidity,  sour  stomach,  heart- 
burn, etc. 

1.  Fats  lessen  the  secretion  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

a.  Animal  fats. 

Flesh  fat,  butter,  cream. 

b.  Vegetable  fats. 

Ripe  olives,  olive  oil,  nuts,  especially 
Brazil  nuts,  filberts,  pecans,  pine  nuts, 
and  peanuts. 

2.  Protein  combines  with  the  acid  in  the  stomach, 

thereby  lessening  its  harmful  effects.    The  fol- 
lowing protein  foods  are  especially  valuably: 
Cottage  cheese,  gluten  mush,  white  of  egg,  but- 
termilk, lean  meat,  milk,  peas,  beans,  lentils. 

III.  Laxative  Foods. 

1.  All  forms  of  sugar,  especially  fruit  sugar,  honey, 

syrups,  malt.  All  the  concentrated  fruit  juices. 
Sweet  fruits,  such  as  figs,  raisins,  prunes,  fruit 
jellies,  etc. 

2.  All  sour  fruits  and  fruit  acids. 

Apples,  grapes,  gooseberries,  grape  fruit,  cur- 
rants, plums,  tomatoes  (buttermilk  and  kou- 
miss). 

3.  Fruit  juices,  especially  from  sour  fruits. 

Grape  juice,  lemonade,  fruit  soup. 

4.  All  foods  rich  in  fat. 

Butter,  cream,  eggs,  eggnog,  ripe  olives,  olive 
oil,  nuts,  especially  pecans  and  Brazil  nuts. 

5.  All  foods  rich  in  cellulose. 

Wheat  and  corn  flakes,  asparagus,  cauliflower, 
spinach,  sweet  potatoes,  green  corn  and  pop- 


156  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

corn,  graham  flour  preparations  and  oatmeal 
foods,  whole  wheat  preparations,  apples,  black- 
berries, cherries,  cranberries,  melons,  oranges, 
peaches,  pineapples,  plums,  whortleberries,  raw 
cabbage,  celery,  greens,  lettuce,  onions,  parsnips, 
turnips,  Lima  beans,  peanuts. 

IV.  Constipating  Foods. 

1.  Liquid  and  semi-liquid  foods  which  contain  little 

or  no  solid  residue.     Most  soups,  gruels,  etc. 

2.  Rice,    fine    flour    white   bread,    corn    starch    and 

other  purely  starchy  foods. 

3.  Iceland  moss,  gelatin,  etc. 

4.  White  of  eggs  and  boiled  milk. 

5.  Rice  and  tapioca  puddings. 

6.  Gluten    mush    and    most    of    the   purely    protein 

foods,  such  as  the  lean  meats. 

V.  Aseptic    Foods.    Useful    in    catarrh   of    the    stomach 
and  bowels,  flatulency,  etc. 

1.  All  the  peptogenic  foods   (List  I)   are  indirectly 

aseptic,  in  that  they  increase  the  secretion  of 
the  gastric  juice,  which  is  germicidal. 

2.  All    fresh    fruit   juice,   especially   the    acid    fruit 

juices  of:  grapes,  gooseberries,  grape  fruit, 
oranges,  lemons,  plums,  sour  apples. 

3.  Dextrinized  cereals. 

Zwieback,  toast,  toasted  flake  cereals,  baked  po- 
tatoes, browned  rice,  etc. 

4.  Non-flesh  diet. 

Fresh  fruit,  berries,  etc.,  fruit  soup,  nuts. 

5.  Buttermilk  and  koumiss. 

VI.  Blood-making  Foods.     Useful  in  anaemia  and  emacia- 
tion. 

1.  Yolks  of  eggs  raw  or  soft-boiled. 

2.  Spinach  and  tomatoes  because  of  their  iron. 

3.  Potatoes   and   green  vegetables  because   of  their 

salts. 

4.  The  nuts  because  of  protein  and  fat. 

5.  Malt  preparations  —  non-alcoholic. 

6.  Legumes  —  bean  and  pea  soup  and  purees. 


SIMPLE  EATING  157 

VII.  Fattening  Foods. 

1.  All  foods  rich  in  fat  such  as: 

Butter,  olives,  olive  oil,   fat  meats,  nuts,  corn 
and  oats,  cheese,  eggs,  milk,  cream. 

2.  All  foods  rich  in  starch. 

The  cereals,  breads,  pastries,  etc. 

3.  All  foods  rich  in  sugar. 

Sugar,  syrups,  malt,  honey,  beets,  sweet  fruits, 
etc. 

4.  Foods  easy  of  digestion  and  assimilation. 

VIII.  Diabetic  Foods. 

1.  Fats  in  moderate  amount,  butter,  etc. 

2.  Proteins,  especially  in  the  form  of  nuts  and  cot- 

tage cheese. 

3.  Most  of  the  acid   fruits,  apples,  etc. 

4.  Most  of  the  vegetables,  except  beets. 

5.  Baked     potatoes  —  small     amount.    While     they 

contain  starch,  their  salts  aid  in  alkalinizing  the 
blood  and  thereby  increase  oxidation  of  sugar. 

6.  Gluten  bread  and  biscuits. 
7-    Eggs. 

8.  Buttermilk  and  koumiss. 

9.  Spinach,  greens,  and  artichokes. 

IX.  Antiacid  Foods  for  acid  dypepsia,  etc. 

1.  Fats  of  all  kinds. 

Butter,  cream,   milk,   yolk  of   eggs,   nuts,   ripe 
olives,  olive  oil. 

2.  Protein  foods. 

Lean  meats,  white  of  eggs,  nut  meats,  eggnog. 
cottage  cheese. 

3.  Cold  or  frozen  foods.     (Especially  in  ulcer  of  the 

stomach.) 

Frozen    malted    milk,    frozen    malted    nuts,    ice 

cream,  frozen  malt  honey. 

4.  Toasts  and  Zwieback. 

5.  Toasted  flake  foods. 

X.  Liquid  Foods  for  gastric  ulcer,  etc. 

1.  Rice  and  gluten  gruels. 

2.  Potato  porridge. 

3.  Legume  soups  and  broths. 


158  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

4.  Vegetable  soups  and  broths. 

5.  Koumiss  and  buttermilk. 

6.  Eggnog. 

XI.  Anti-fat  Foods,  for  obesity. 

1.  Limit  the  amount  of  daily  food. 

2.  Restrict  the  diet  to  two  or  three  articles. 

3.  Avoid  all  fatty  foods. 

4.  Avoid  liquid   foods. 

5.  Select  diet  from  the  following: 

Buttermilk,  hard  breads,  eggs,  vegetable  broths, 
gluten  mush,  sour  apples  and  sour  fruits,  ba- 
nanas, lemon,  celery,  tomatoes,  greens. 

XII.  Rheumatism,    gout,    and    neuralgia,    including    sick 
headache,  Bright's  disease,  arterio-sclerosis,  etc. 

1.  Avoid  rich  foods,  meats,  tea,  and  coffee. 

2.  Use    foods   under  aseptic   diet    (List   V)    except 

meat  broths. 

3.  Some  cases  should  avoid  milk,  cheese,  and  other 

foods  high  in  protein. 


CHAPTER  XII 

MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS 

TOO  GREAT  A  VARIETY. —  EXTREMES  OF  TEMPERATURE. —  EATING  TOO 
MUCH. —  THAT  "ALL  GONE"  FEELING. —  EATING  TOO  OFTEN. — 
TEA  AND  COFFEE. —  ALCOHOLIC  BEVERAGES. —  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT 
ALCOHOL. —  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  FOODS. —  CANE  SUGAR. —  THE 
SALT  QUESTION. —  EXCESS  OF  PROTEIN. —  PROTEIN  ASHES. —  CoN- 
DIMENTS. —  MUSHES  AND  PASTRIES. —  PERVERTED  TASTE. —  LIQUID 
FOODS. —  FOOD  PREPARATION. —  DRINKING  AT  MEALS. —  ERRORS  OF 
COOKING. —  PHYSICAL  AND  MENTAL  WORK. 

THE  stomach  has  to  contend,  not  only  with  the  dyspep- 
sia-producing complexities  of  modern  cooking,  but  as 
well  must  it  fight  with  the  unhygienic  combinations  of  vari- 
ous foods.     One  of  our  modern  dietetic  sins  is  that  of  mul- 
tiplicity of  dishes. 

TOO   GREAT   A   VARIETY 

The  average  American  citizen  undertakes  to  eat  alto- 
gether too  many  different  kinds  of  food  at  a  single  meal. 
Professor  Pawlow,  the  great  Russian  investigator,  has 
shown  that  the  digestive  juices  of  the  stomach  are  secreted 
to  suit  each  type  of  meal.  In  view  of  this  wonderful  dis- 
covery, it  must  be  clear  that  our  modern  "  course  dinners," 
supplying  from  ten  to  twenty  different  kinds  of  food,  are 
very  difficult  for  the  stomach  to  digest  and  dispose  of  prop- 
erly. The  best  practice  is  to  eat  two  or  three  different  kinds 
of  food  at  each  meal,  changing  these  foods  from  meal  to 
meal,  so  as  to  present  a  small  variety  at  any  one  meal,  but 
ever  changing  from  day  to  day. 

EXTREMES   OF   TEMPERATURE 

It  is  well  to  avoid  extremes  of  temperature  in  eating. 
Do  not  take  food  too  hot  or  too  cold  into  the  stomach. 

159 


160  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Cold  food  is  in  every  way  suitable  to  the  warm  season,  but 
the  average  stomach  will  get  along  better  with  more  or 
less  warm  food  during  the  winter.  Foods  that  are  too  hot 
not  only  blunt  the  sense  of  taste  and  injure  the  mouth,  but 
they  also  debilitate  the  stomach  and  weaken  digestion. 
Likewise  ices  and  ice-cold  foods,  especially  ice-water,  hinder 
and  delay  digestion  by  lowering  the  stomach  temperature 
greatly  below  the  digestion  point,  namely,  one  hundred  de- 
grees, which  is  the  temperature  essential  to  good  digestive 
action. 

EATING   TOO   MUCH 

The  average  individual  eats  entirely  too  much.  There  are 
probably  few  people  who  eat  too  little,  but  it  is  our  opinion 
that  nine  persons  out  of  ten  eat  too  much.  Overeating  is 
an  almost  universal  physical  transgression.  This  dietetic 
sin  would  be  greatly  helped,  if  not  entirely  removed,  by 
proper  mastication  of  the  food.  The  reader  is  referred  to 
discussion  of  this  subject  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Many  are  eating  three  times  a  day,  with  lunches  between 
meals,  who  would  do  better  if  they  ate  only  two  meals  a 
day.  Some  people  seem  to  do  better  on  three  meals;  others 
on  two.  It  is  worth  while  for  you  to  give  the  matter  of  the 
number  of  meals  you  should  eat  a  fair  trial,  and  so  learn 
whether  the  two-meal  or  the  three-meal  system  is  best 
suited  to  your  constitution  and  your  work. 

THAT  "ALL  GONE"  FEELING 

Many,  when  they  go  without  the  third  meal,  or  without 
a  customary  lunch  between  meals,  have  what  they  call  an 
"  all  gone "  feeling  in  the  region  of  the  stomach.  In  the 
majority  of  cases,  this  "  all  gone "  feeling  is  not  Nature's 
call  for  food,  but  is  rather  a  protest  on  the  part  of  the 
tender  and  inflamed  lining  of  the  stomach,  expressing  its 
sensitive  and  inflamed  condition;  it  really  constitutes  a 
warning  against  taking  food,  or,  at  least,  against  an  irri- 
tating or  oversupply  of  food.  This  unpleasant  sensation 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  l6l 

is  relieved  by  eating,  because  the  taking  of  food  distends 
the  stomach,  thus  separating  its  inflamed  walls  and  thereby 
temporarily  removing  the  source  of  this  distressing  and  un- 
pleasant sensation. 

What  is  usually  needed,  when  one  experiences  this  "  all 
gone "  feeling  in  the  stomach,  is  a  drink  of  pure  water, 
either  hot  or  cold.  If  this  does  not  soon  relieve  the  un- 
pleasant sensation,  go  at  once  into  the  open  air  and  indulge 
in  deep-breathing  exercises  for  several  minutes.  Follow 
this  by  deep  pressure  upon  the  abdomen,  just  below  the 
stomach,  and  this  will  usually  afford  relief.  A  drink  of 
water  will  not  properly  satisfy  a  real,  genuine  appetite,  but 
it  will  frequently  fully  satisfy  a  false  or  "  habit  appetite." 

EATING   TOO   OFTEN 

If  the  proverbial  eight-hour  rule  of  the  labor  unions  were 
applied  to  the  stomach,  much  indigestion,  constipation,  and 
other  dyspepsia  suffering  would  be  avoided.  By  this  we 
mean  to  allow  at  least  eight  hours  between  all  meals. 
Some  people  with  slow  digestion,  especially  if  addicted  to 
eating  foods  difficult  of  digestion,  require  from  five  to  six 
hours  to  empty  the  stomach,  and  it  should  be  remembered 
that  the  stomach  is  a  muscular  sac  which  grows  weary  from 
its  work  like  any  other  muscle.  The  stomach  muscle  requires 
periods  of  rest  between  its  periods  o*f  work,  the  same  as 
other  muscles.  Therefore,  when  the  stomach  is  frequently 
called  upon  to  do  extra  work,  or  the  food  is  under-masti- 
cated, it  is  much  overworked  in  digesting  a  single  meal  and 
requires  not  only  its  normal  period  of  rest  between  meals, 
but  even  extra  time  for  rest  and  recuperation. 

Even  the  heart  muscle,  in  the  course  of  its  apparently 
never-ceasing  work,  is  allowed  a  little  rest  between  beats; 
and  so  the  stomach  will  be  able  to  do  much  better  work  in 
disposing  of  the  meal  to  follow,  if  it  has  had  a  chance  to 
rest  for  a  few  hours  from  the  work  of  digesting  the  pre- 
ceding meal.  It  is  true  that  the  eight  hours  between  meals 
may  necessitate  taking  only  two  meals  a  day,  but  experience 
and  observation  have  proved  that  a  vast  majority  of  people 


1 62  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

will  do  just  as  well  on  two  meals  as  they  do  on  three,  or 
even  better. 

TEA   AND   COFFEE 

In  addition  to  the  foods  enumerated  as  poison  foods  in 
the  chapter  on  Food  Adulteration,  there  are  certain  other 
foods  or  beverages  commonly  taken  into  the  stomach,  which 
might  very  properly  be  termed  poison  foods.  While  they 
contain  very  little  or  none  of  the  nutritious  elements,  they 
do  contain  certain  elements  which  are  more  or  less  poison- 
ous. Tea  and  coffee  may  be  said  to  belong  to  this  class,  as 
they  contain  practically  no  nourishment.  Such  nourish- 
ment as  they  do  possess  is  obtained  from  the  sugar  and 
cream  added  to  them.  On  the  other  hand,  they  contain  cer- 
tain narcotic  substances  which  are  injurious  to  health,  es- 
pecially to  the  health  of  the  nervous  system.  This  substance 
in  coffee  is  known  as  caffeine,  while  tea  contains  a  similar 
poison  called  theine,  and,  in  addition,  a  harmful  astringent 
—  tannic  acid.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  human 
race  would  be  better  off  if  these  beverages  had  never  been 
discovered ;  and  many  cases  of  nervousness,  dyspepsia,  and 
constipation  would  be  either  greatly  helped  or  entirely  re- 
lieved, if  these  beverages  were  banished  from  our  tables. 

Among  other  beverages  which  are  not  altogether  harm- 
less may  be  mentione;!  ordinary  breakfast  cocoa,  which  con- 
tains a  narcotic  substance  called  theobromine,  which  is 
closely  related  to  the  narcotics  contained  in  tea  and  coffee, 
but  is  not  nearly  so  harmful  in  its  action.  The  objections 
to  tea  and  coffee  as  beverages  may  be  summarized  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  They   encourage   the  taking  of  liquids   at  meal   time, 
usually  in  inordinate  quantities,  thereby  diluting  and  weak- 
ening the  digestive  juices   of  both   mouth   and  stomach. 

2.  They    are    stimulants,    or    more    truly  —  narcotics,    in 
their   real   effects   upon   the   nervous   system,   and   are   not 
foods,  their  only  food  value  being  due  to  the  addition  of 
sugar  and  cream. 

3.  They   are   medicines  —  drugs  —  caffeine   being  one   of 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  163 

the  common  headache  remedies  used  by  physicians;  there- 
fore they  should  be  used,  not  habitually  as  beverages,  but 
only  upon  the  prescription  of  a  competent  physician. 

4.  They  deteriorate  the  secretion  of  the  digestive  juices 
in  the  mouth  and  stomach,  and  thereby  delay  and  derange 
digestion. 

5.  The  tannic  acid  of  tea  possesses  a  harmful  astringent 
action   upon    the    mucous   membrane    of   the    stomach   and 
bowels,  preventing  the  digestion  of  proteins  and  tending  to- 
ward constipation. 

6.  By  artificially  liquefying  food  in  the  mouth,  they  inter- 
fere with  proper  mastication  and  taste,  and  therefore  diminish 
the  secretion  of  "  appetite  juice  "  in  the  stomach. 

7.  They  belong  to  the  stimulant  family  and  are  no  doubt, 
in  many  cases,  forerunners  of  worse  habits. 

8.  The   "  tea-drinker's  habit "   is  a  nervous   disorder   re- 
sulting from  the  excessive  use  of  tea,  now  recognized  by 
medical  authorities. 

9.  They  are  probably  an  important  factor  in  many  cases 
of    neurasthenia    and    other    nervous    disorders,    especially 
when  used  in  large  quantities. 

10.  In  many  cases  they  produce  depressing  headaches  and 
other  undesirable  effects,  and  most  of  their  devotees  will  ex- 
perience a  headache  if  they  are  forced  to  go  without  their 
accustomed  cup  of  tea  or  coffee. 

11.  These  habits  constitute  an  enormous  drain  upon  the 
physical  health  of  the  nation  and  encourage  the  useless  ex- 
penditure of  a  vast  sum  of  money  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  who  consume  about  fourteen  pounds  of  coffee 
per  capita  per  year,  to  say  nothing  of  tea  and  cocoa. 

ALCOHOLIC    BEVERAGES 

Doctors  are  coming  to  use  less  and  less  alcohol  in  the 
practice  of  medicine,  and  the  time  has  certainly  arrived 
when  the  laymen  should  understand  its  effects  upon  health 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  discontinue  its  use  as  a  table  bever- 
age. Alcohol  is  not  a  true  food.  It  has  been  long  known 
that  a  portion  of  alcohol  mav  be  oxidized  in  the  body. 


164 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


This  is  also  true  of  many  other  poisons  which  would  be 
equally  entitled  to  be  called  a  food,  if  this  fact  entitles 
alcohol  to  be  called  a  food. 

Alcohol  is  the  excretion  of  a  certain  microscopic  little 
body,  one  of  the  lower  order  of  beings;  in  fact,  it  is  the  ex- 
cretion of  a  vegetable  organism,  the  common  yeast  plant. 
One  of  the  great  laws  of  biology  is  that  the  excretions 
thrown  out  from  the  body  of  any  species  are  poisons  to  all 
orders  of  life  above  that  species  in  the  biological  scale, 
and  alcohol  proves  that  this  is  true,  as  it  is  a  poison  to 
all  animals,  from  the  least  to  the  highest.  Professor  Win- 
field  S.  Hall,  Dean  of  the  Medical  Department  of  North- 
western University,  employs  the  deadly  parallel  to  show 
that  alcohol  is  not  a  food,  as  follows : 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT 
ALCOHOL 

1.  A     certain     quantity     will 
produce  a  certain  effect  at 
first,  but  it   requires   more 
and   more   to   produce   the 
same  effect  when  the  drug 
is  used  habitually. 

2.  When  used  habitually,  it  is 
likely  to  induce  an  uncon- 
trollable desire  for  more  in 
ever-increasing  amounts. 

3.  After    its   habitual    use,   a 
sudden   total   abstinence   is 
likely  to  cause  a  serious  de- 
rangement   of    the    central 
nervous  system. 

4.  Alcohol  is  oxidized  rapidly 
in  the  body. 

5.  Alcohol,  not  being  useful, 
is  not  stored  in  the  body. 

6.  Alcohol  is  a  product  of  de- 
composition of  food  in  the 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT 
FOODS 

1.  A     certain     quantity     will 
produce  a  certain  effect  at 
first,  and  the  same  quantity 
will    always     produce     the 
same  effect  in  the  healthy 
body. 

2.  The  habitual  use  of  a  food 
never    induces    an    uncon- 
trollable   desire    for    it    in 
ever-increasing  amounts. 

3.  After    its    habitual    use,    a 
sudden      total      abstinence 
never  causes  any  derange- 
ment of  the  central  nerv- 
ous system. 

4.  All     foods     are     oxidized 
slowly  in  the  body. 

5.  All  foods,  being  useful,  are 
stored  in  the  body. 

6.  All   foods  are  products  of 
constructive      activity      of 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS 


presence   of   a   scarcity  of 
oxygen. 

7.  Alcohol    is    an     excretion 
and,    in    common    with   all 
excretions,     is     poisonous. 
It  may  be  beneficial  to  cer- 
tain phases  of  disease,  but 
is    never   beneficial    to    the 
healthy  body. 

8.  All     medical     men     advise 
healthy    persons    to    avoid 
alcohol  altogether. 

9.  All      connoisseurs      advise 
people  to  avoid  taking  al- 
cohol into  the  empty  stom- 
ach. 

10.  The  young,  developing  in- 
dividual     is      always     ad- 
vised to  abstain  from  alco- 
hol. 

11.  The     use     of     alcohol,     in 
common   with   narcotics   in 
general,   is    followed   by   a 
reaction. 

12.  The  use  of  alcohol  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  decrease  in  the 
activity  of  the  muscle  cells 
and  the  brain  cells. 


protoplasm  in  the  presence 
of  abundant  oxygen. 

7.  All    foods   are    formed   by 
Nature     for     nourishment 
and  are  by  nature  whole- 
some and  always  beneficial 
to  the  healthy  body,  though 
they  may  injure  the  body  in 
certain  phases  of  disease. 

8.  No     medical     men     advise 
healthy    persons    to    avoid 
food. 

9.  People  are  universally  ad- 
vised to  take  food  into  the 
empty  stomach. 

10.  The  young,  developing  in- 
dividual     is      always     ad- 
vised   to    partake    bounti- 
fully of  food. 

11.  The  use  of   foods  is   fol- 
lowed by  no  reaction. 


12.  The  use  of  food  is  fol- 
lowed by  an  increase  in 
the  activity  of  the  muscle 
and  brain  cells. 


CANE   SUGAR. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  American  people  eat  too 
much  sugar  and  sweet  foods.  Sugar  is  a  food  and,  when 
properly  eaten,  may  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  the  body,  al- 
though it  should  be  remembered  that  ordinary  cane  sugar  is 
very  different  from  the  natural  sugar  found  in  fruits,  in  that 
it  requires  to  be  digested  before  it  can  be  absorbed  into 
the  blood-stream,  and  that  its  digestion  is  affected  very 


1 66  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

late  in  the  process  by  a  certain  ferment  of  the  intestinal 
juice. 

Cane  sugar  (made  from  maple  sap,  the  sugar  beet,  and 
the  sugar-cane  plant)  is  not  irritating  to  the  mucous  mem- 
brane when  it  is  taken  in  a  diluted  form  —  the  form  in 
which  it  is  found  in  Nature.  Marked  irritating  and  in- 
flammatory effects  are  produced  upon  the  mucous  mem- 
brane, when  solutions  stronger  than  6  to  10  per  cent  are 
taken.  Concentrated  sugar,  or  strong  solutions  thereof,  ex- 
ert an  inflammatory  effect  on  the  membrane  lining  the 
throat  and  stomach,  much  the  same  as  salt,  and  this  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  it  produces  an  inordinate  thirst 
similar  to  that  produced  by  salt. 

Preserved  fruits  and  vegetables  are  not  ideal  foods,  in 
that  they  contain  an  excess  of  sugar,  and  the  process  of 
preservation  renders  them  very  difficult  of  digestion. 

Nature  undoubtedly  intended  that  man  should  get  most  of 
his  sugar  (for  sugar  is  a  good  food,  rich  in  heat-producing 
qualities)  from  the  fruits  and  vegetables,  rather  than  in 
the  form  of  concentrated  cane  sugar ;  but  if  cane  sugar  is 
used,  it  should  be  well  diluted,  and  fortunately  this  is  the 
case  in  most  of  our  foods  where  it  is  employed  in  the 
processes  of  cooking.  When  used  in  the  form  of  candy,  by 
children,  it  is  more  wholesome  in  the  shape  of  hard  candies, 
which  will  compel  the  dilution  of  the  sugar  by  the  admixture 
of  a  large  amount  of  saliva  in  the  mouth  before  swallowing. 
One  of  the  great  objections  to  candy,  outside  of  its  im- 
purity or  adulteration,  is  that  it  is  eaten  between  meals. 
Candy  must,be  seriously  regarded  as  a  food.  Much  of  the 
harm  of  candy  would  be  removed,  were  it  eaten  in  moderate 
quantities  —  masticated  as  a  food,  or  slowly  dissolved  in 
the  mouth.  Candy  should  be  taken  at  meal  times  or  di- 
rectly following  meals. 

THE   SALT   QUESTION 

Salt,  when  taken  in  small  quantities,  is  probably  not  re- 
sponsible for  abnormal  conditions  in  the  healthy  body.  It 
is  certain  that  this  condiment  works  great  harm  when  taken 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  l? 

into  the  body  in  large  quantities.  It  is  highly  irritating  to 
the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  stomach,  where  it  sets 
up  a  severe  inflammation,  and  is  partly  responsible  for  the  in- 
ordinate thirst  which  immediately  appears  when  large  quan- 
tities are  eaten.  There  are  some  diseases,  such  as  dropsy,  in 
which  it  is  necessary  to  remove  salt  from  the  food  entirely  in 
the  successful  treatment  of  the  patient.  I  think  it  is  a 
good  plan  for  one  to  see  to  it  that  he  is  gradually  eat- 
ing a  little  less  salt,  or  at  least  to  make  sure  that  the 
salt  habit  is  not  growing  upon  him.  and  that  he  is  not, 
little  by  little,  coming  to  take  more  and  more  of  this  con- 
diment in  connection  with  his  food. 

The  really  useful  and  natural  salts  are  secured  from  the 
various  vegetable  foods  —  such  as  fruits,  grains,  nuts,  and 
vegetables.  The  ordinary  table  salt  is  a  purely  mineral  com- 
pound, and  its  value  as  a  food  is  questioned  by  some  of 
the  best  known  authorities  on  foods  and  nutrition.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  majority  of  people  could  live  in- 
definitely with  but  little  or  no  salt  at  all  in  their  food. 
Salt  does  not  seem  to  be  an  indispensable  part  of  the  food 
of  any  animal.  It  is  possible  that  the  use  of  salt  is  wholly 
a  cultivated  and  acquired  taste. 

EXCESS   OF    PROTEIN 

The  American  people  eat  too  much  meat.  Meat  consists 
largely  of  protein,  a  food  element  adapted  to  bodily  repair, 
1  but  ordinarily  very  little  used  for  heat  and  energy,  and 
constituting  a  very  extravagant  source  of  heat  when  used 
for  that  purpose.  The  greater  bulk  of  the  average  diet 
should  consist  of  potatoes,  cereals,  fruits,  vegetables,  and 
nuts,  with  a  moderate  amount  of  milk,  sugar,  eggs,  etc.,  as 
these  are  the  foods  which  so  abundantly  supply  us  with 
the  materials  needed  for  heat  and  energy. 

We  need  but  a  small  amount  of  protein  at  each  meal. 
This  was  made  clear  in  the  chapter  on  Nutrition.  The 
common  foods  which  contain  proteins  —  meat,  eggs,  cheese, 
beans,  lentils,  and  the  like,  should  not  constitute  the  chief 
article  of  diet  at  any  one  meal.  We  are  getting  just  about 


1 68  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

all  the  protein  we  require  in  connection  with  our  bread  and 
other  cereals.  We  even  get  considerable  in  potatoes,  while 
eggs  and  milk  furnish  an  abundance  of  protein  —  even  an 
excess.  Nature  has  distributed  the  protein  very  sparingly, 
but  very  carefully,  and  in  about  the  proper  amounts,  through- 
out most  of  her  food  substances,  so  that  it  is  really  neces- 
sary to  eat  but  a  small  quantity  of  the  so-called  protein 
foods  in  order  to  supply  the  body  with  enough  to  keep  it  in 
proper  repair. 

The  danger  of  taking  too  much  protein  consists  in  the 
fact  previously  pointed  out,  that  the  body  has  no  real  pro- 
vision for  storing  it.  If  we  eat  too  much  sugar  or  starch, 
it  can  be  stored  in  the  liver  and  subsequently  used.  Like- 
wise, if  we  eat  too  much  fat,  it  may  be  deposited  as  adipose 
tissue,  and  later  used;  but  when  we  eat  too  much  protein, 
there  is  no  such  arrangement  for  storing  it  in  the  body. 

PROTEIN   ASHES 

When  starch,  sugar,  and  fat  are  burned  up  in  the  body, 
they  produce  ashes  which  will  liquefy,  or  gases  which  will 
readily  pass  off  —  the  gases  through  the  lungs  and  the 
liquids  through  the  kidneys,  skin,  etc.  But  when  proteins 
are  burned  up  in  the  body;  that  is,  such  foods  as  meat, 
cheese,  etc.,  the  resulting  ashes  are  not  all  liquid  and 
gaseous.  Some  are  solid,  and  these  must  be  further  burned 
up  in  the  liver  and  eliminated  through  the  kidneys,  which 
organs  have  great  difficulty  in  eliminating  these  protein 
ashes  if  they  are  present  in  the  blood  in  large  quantities. 

These  solid  protein  ashes  or  clinkers  from  the  furnace  of 
life,  are  perhaps  better  known  to  the  reader  by  the  name 
of  uric  acid,  urea,  etc.,  and  they  probably  have  more  or 
less  to  do  with  various  diseases  of  the  body,  such  as  rheu- 
matism, sick  headache,  and  perhaps  a  great  many  other 
maladies. 

There  is  little  to  be  said  in  favor  of  meat  as  a  regular 
article  of  diet,  except  that  its  protein  is  probably  more  easy 
of  digestion  than  the  vegetable  protein.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  in  process  of  disintegration,  and  the  further 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  169 

down  the  scale  of  decay  the  flesh  has  descended,  the  more 
easy  it  is  of  digestion.  This  is  why  the  cold  storage  meats 
are  more  tender  than  the  fresh  or  salted  kinds.  So  far  as 
the  body  itself  is  concerned,  it  makes  equally  good  use  of 
either  animal  or  vegetable  proteins.  While  the  vegetarians 
have  made  many  wild  and  absurd  claims  for  their  diet, 
nevertheless  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  non- 
flesh  diet,  as  the  vegetable  kingdom  (with  milk  and  eggs) 
certainly  affords  all  the  elements  necessary  for  the  proper 
nourishment  and  energizing  of  the  body;  at  the  same  time, 
the  fruits,  grains,  nuts,  and  vegetables  are  free  from  any 
of  the  disadvantages  and  undesirable  effects  of  the  high 
protein  or  meat  diet.  The  experience  of  the  vast  majority 
of  the  earth's  inhabitants  to-day,  who  live  without  meat 
and  yet  enjoy  good  health,  is  a  sufficient  demonstration  of 
the  practicability  of  the  non-meat  diet;  whereas  recent  tests 
at  Yale  University  show  the  non-flesh  users  to  be  far  su- 
perior to  the  meat-users  in  practically  every  endurance  test 
made. 

CONDIMENTS 

The  more  simple  the  diet,  the  more  natural  will  be  the 
taste,  and  the  less  the  craving  for  condiments  and  other  un- 
natural seasoning.  The  well-cooked,  simply  seasoned  diet 
would  prove  a  great  aid  to  the  cause  of  practical  temperance. 
The  more  one  chews  the  food,  the  more  natural  the  flavors, 
the  more  the  sense  of  taste  will  be  found  to  choose  simple,  nu- 
tritious food  with  simple  seasoning  —  food  which, in  every 
way  supplies  the  body's  needs. 

The  average  person  has  a  very  limited  sense  of  taste, 
nearly  all  foods  being  flavored  with  mustard,  vinegar,  pep- 
per, salt,  horseradish,  etc.  The  less  these  condiments  are 
used,  the  more  appreciative  and  discriminating  will  the 
sense  of  taste  become.  New  and  undreamed-of  flavors  will 
be  discovered  in  a  simple  piece  of  toasted  bread,  and  many 
of  the  common  food  preparations  which  the  condiment- 
seared  taste  regarded  as  insipid,  will  be  found  to  abound 
in  numerous  grateful  and  tasty  flavors. 


170  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  more  simple  one's  diet,  therefore,  the  more  reliable 
will  become  the  sense  of  taste  in  choosing  those  foods  which 
the  body  really  needs  from  day  to  day  for  purposes  of 
nourishment  and  energy.  The  real  purpose  of  eating  is  to 
nourish  mind  and  body,  and  to  heat  and  energize  the  organ- 
ism. We  should  eat  to  live,  and  not  live  to  eat.  We  can- 
not have  a  well-nourished  body  with  the  stomach  and 
bowels  in  a  state  of  constant  fermentation  and  putrefaction. 
We  cannot  expect  peace  and  serenity  of  mind  with  a  state 
of  perpetual  warfare  in  the  stomach,  and  insurrection  in 
the  bowels.  Good  digestion  requires  simplicity  of  diet ;  free- 
dom from  these  irritating,  thirst-producing  condiments. 
Further  objection  to  the  presence  of  irritating  condiments 
in  the  diet  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 

1.  Thorough  mastication  of  the  food  yields  natural  food 
flavors  and  renders  the  use  of  condiments  both  unnecessary 
and  undesirable. 

2.  Condiments   pervert   and   blunt   the    sense   of   taste  — 
Nature's    monitor    of    digestion  —  the    great    regulator    of 
metabolism. 

3.  They  create  an  inflammatory  thirst  which  water  can- 
not quench.     Alcohol  is  able  to  quench  this  inordinate  and 
unnatural  thirst  at  once.     In  many  cases,  condiments  may 
be  truthfully  called  the  real  ancestors  of  drunkenness. 

4.  They  inflame  and  irritate  the  digestive  mucous  mem- 
branes.    Mustard  produces  something  like  the  same  effect  on 
the  inside  of  the  stomach  that  it  does  on  the  outside. 

5.  They  all  have  a  tendency  to  produce  a  catarrhal  state 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels  when  their  use  is  long  continued. 

6.  While  they  may  increase  the  quantity  of  the  saliva  and 
gastric  juice,  they  invariably  decrease  the  quality,  as  the 
fluids   they  produce  are  largely  mucous,  designed  to  pro- 
tect  the   mucous   membrane    from    irritation. 

7.  By  over-flavoring,  they  lead  in  many  cases  to  overeat- 
ing. 

8.  In  general,  it  is  a  safe  plan  to  avoid  all  flavoring  sub- 
stances which  "  taste  hot  when  they  are  cold." 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  171 


MUSHES   AND    PASTRIES 

The  average  person  will  do  well  to  avoid  the  soft,  fresh 
breads  as  they  come  from  the  oven,  whether  they  are  yeast- 
raised  or  the  hot  soda  biscuit.  Those  with  robust  digestion 
may  be  able  to  stand  these  breads  regularly  "for  a  long  time, 
but  sooner  or  later,  digestion  will  be  deranged  by  these 
pasty,  half-cooked  starches  in  the  form  of  fresh,  doughy 
bread.  For  the  same  reason,  too  much  pastry  will  be  found 
to  disagree  with  the  digestion.  It  is  simply  a  question  of 
the  proper  cooking  of  starch.  The  better  cooked  the  pas- 
tries, the  less  objection  to  them  from  the  standpoint  of 
health  and  digestion.  The  student  of  health  will  do  well  to 
avoid  very  largely  all  our  modern,  highly  seasoned  pastries 
and  desserts,  and  the  dyspeptic  would  better  shun  them  alto- 
gether. 

The  Pastry  Peril  is  a  real  one  to  dyspeptics;  and  the 
miseries  of  mush  could  be  testified  to  by  thousands  who 
have  eaten  enormous  quantities  of  half-cooked  cereal 
mushes,  supposing  that  they  were  partaking  of  ideal  health 
foods,  especially  adapted  to  the  crippled  digestion  of  semi- 
invalids. 

PERVERTED   TASTE. 

It  is  remarkable  how  quickly,  how  easily,  the  human 
taste  can  be  perverted  so  as  to  relish  certain  foods  which 
the  normal  senses  of  smell  and  taste  would  instantly  reject 
—  such  foods  as  the  indigestible  cucumber  pickle,  old  and 
rancid  cheese,  and  many  other  articles  of  diet,  which  can 
only  worry  and  overtax  the  organs  of  digestion.  Many  of 
these  unnatural  foods,  such  as  clam-chowder,  are  actually 
poisonous  and  disease-producing.  At  the  same  time,  some 
people  have  developed  such  a  peculiar  taste  that  they  relish 
and  crave  these  unnatural  and  perverted  food  substances. 
Indeed,  many  of  these  foods  have  taken  unto  themselves  the 
name  of  "  relishes." 


172  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

LIQUID    FOODS. 

The  human  mouth  is  equipped  with  an  extraordinary 
grinding  device,  which  clearly  indicates  that  man  was  de- 
signed to  eat  largely  of  solid  or  semi-solid  foods.  Dry 
food  and  hard  food  are  essential  —  at  least,  a  certain  amount 
of  them  —  to  thorough  mastication  and  good  digestion. 
The  seeker  after  health  will  do  well  to  avoid  too  much  of 
the  mushes,  pastries,  soups,  and  other  liquid  and  semi-liquid 
foods.  We  regard  the  modern  toasted  flake  foods  as  a  bless- 
ing to  humanity,  but  their  predecessors,  the  mushy  break- 
fast foods,  were  certainly  a  cross  to  the  dyspeptic  stomach. 
Liquid  foods  are  indispensable  to  some  crippled  stomachs, 
and  a  moderate  amount  of  liquids  will  do  no  harm  to  the 
average  healthy  digestion.  It  will  be  found  best  to  limit 
the  liquids  taken  at  meals  to  one  glass  —  even  in  the  case 
of  those  having  normal  digestion. 

FOOD    PREPARATION 

The  scientific  cooking  and  artistic  preparation,  together 
with  tasteful  service  of  food,  are  all  concerned  in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  keen  appetite  which  is  so  essential  to  good  di- 
gestion. It  is  a  great  mistake  to  look  with  indifference 
upon  the  service  of  the  food  at  the  table.  Good  digestion 
demands  that  the  senses  of  beauty,  propriety,  and  the  in- 
dividual tastes,  shall  be  satisfied  as  well  as  the  appetite 
gratified  in  this  wonderful  and  important  act  of  taking 
nourishment.  Poor  cooking  and  careless  serving  usually  re- 
sult in  a  poor  appetite,  and  a  poor  appetite  commonly  means 
poor  digestion.  Take  time  to  enjoy  your  food.  The  tasty 
appreciation  of  food  is  a  part  of  good  digestion,  as  fully  dis- 
cussed in  the  preceding  chapter. 

DRINKING   AT    MEALS. 
The  habit  of  drinking  two,  three,  or  four  glasses  of  water, 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS  173 

milk,  tea,  coffee,  cocoa,  chocolate,  or  ice  tea,  in  connection 
with  the  meals,  is  certainly  harmful.  It  will  be  found  best 
to  limit  liquids  taken  with  meals  to  one  glass  or  one  cup. 
Some  stomachs  may  appear  to  stand  more  liquid,  but  sooner 
or  later  trouble  is  likely  to  arise  from  the  practice  of  drink- 
ing large  quantities  at  meal  time.  The  great  thirst  experi- 
enced by  many  at  meal  time  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  system  is  famished  for  water  to  the  point  where  the  se- 
cretion of  the  digestive  juices  is  seriously  interfered  with  — 
there  really  being  a  deficiency  of  liquid  in  the  blood.  This 
condition  of  affairs  clearly  shows  that  the  individual  has 
neglected  to  drink  a  proper  amount  of  water  between  meals 
—  the  proper  time  to  take  the  large  part  of  our  daily  water 
requirement. 

Some  few  cases  of  excessively  acid  stomachs  seem  to  do 
well  upon  one  glass  of  cold  or  ice  water  at  meals.  This 
cold  liquid  probably  lessens  the  secretion  of  hydrochloric 
acid  in  the  stomach.  These  are  about  the  only  ones  whom 
we  can  recommend  to  take  much  liquid  at  meal  time,  es- 
pecially cold  drinks. 

The  cereal  coffees,  crust  coffee,  soup's,  etc.,  or  a  glass  of 
milk  taken  at  meal  time  in  amounts  not  exceeding  one  cup 
or  one  glass,  will  probably  do  little  harm  to  persons  having 
ordinary  health  and  sound  digestion.  Some  dyspeptics,  at 
least  for  a  time,  must  avoid  all  liquids  at  meal  time. 

Mineral  waters  are  not  to  be  recommended  for  continuous 
use.  While  some  of  these  natural  medicinal  waters  may  be 
of  slight  value  when  used  in  certain  diseases  for  a  short 
time  —  notably  constipation  —  their  prolonged  use  can  only 
work  mischief,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  strong  mineral 
waters. 

The  best  possible  water  for  drinking  purposes  is  pure  dis- 
tilled water,  or  snow-water  as  it  comes  from  the  mountains; 
otherwise,  the  nearer  the  regular  drinking  water  approaches 
pure  soft  water,  the  better  it  is.  Pure  water  should  contain 
no  salts  or  other  foreign  matter. 


174  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


ERRORS   OF    COOKING. 

Starchy  foods  should  be  long  boiled  or  thoroughly  baked, 
especially  if  one's  digestion  is  weak.  On  the  other  hand, 
cooking  is  to  be  avoided  in  the  case  of  fats,  butter,  oils,  etc. 
These  substances  are  chemically  changed  when  much  heated. 
Certain  irritating  oils,  etc.,  are  developed,  and  this  is  what 
makes  fried  foods  difficult  of  digestion,  and  to  many  stom- 
achs entirely  indigestible. 

Cooking  also  decreases  the  digestibility  of  all  the  proteins, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  legumes  —  peas,  beans,  lentils,  and 
peanuts.  These  should  be  well  cooked,  otherwise  their  pro- 
tein, as  well  as  the  starches  they  contain,  is  very  difficult  of 
digestion. 

Many  of  the  tough  and  coarse  vegetables  are  improved 
by  cooking,  such  as  the  onion,  turnip,  and  parsnip,  while  cab- 
bage is  digested  in  half  the  time  if  eaten  raw  —  cooked 
cabbage  being  very  difficult  of  digestion. 

The  use  of  baking  powders,  especially  the  alum  powders, 
cannot  help  injuring  the  health  and  digestion. 

Eggs  are  better  taken  either  raw  or  soft  boiled.  The 
more  eggs  and  meat  are  cooked,  the  harder  they  are  to  di- 
gest. Raw  or  rare  meats,  while  easy  of  digestion,  are  dan- 
gerous to  health  because  of  the  germs,  parasites,  etc.,  which 
they  contain. 

The  question  of  proper  and  improper  combinations  was 
fully  considered  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

PHYSICAL  AND   MENTAL   WORK. 

The  condition  of  the  body  and  the  state  of  the  mind  at 
meal  time  are  important.  It  is  not  advisable  to  engage  in 
fatiguing  physical  work  right  up  to  the  hour  of  eating; 
neither  is  it  well  to  resume  hard  physical  effort  immediately 
after  the  meal.  There  should  be  at  least  one  hour  before 
strenuous  bodily  effort  is  put  forth.  Walking  or  other  light 
exercise  may  be  resumed  immediately  or  within  a  half-hour 
after  meals. 


MISTAKES  MADE  AT  MEALS.  175 

Taxing  mental  labor  should  not  be  performed  immediately 
after  eating.  Light  reading  does  not  seem  to  affect  some,  but 
digestion  will  proceed  more  acceptably  if  the  mind  is  allowed 
comparative  rest  after  meals,  for  at  least  an  hour.  The 
practice  of  reading  at  meals  is  highly  injurious. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

PURE  WATER  DRINKING,  OR  THE  REFRESHED  LIFE 

PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY  OF  WATER. —  LATENT  HEAT. —  FREEZING 
MIXTURES. —  MOISTURE. —  EXPANSION. —  CAPILLARITY. —  DIALY- 
SIS.—  COMPRESSIBILITY. —  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  LIQUIDS. —  DISTILLA- 
TION.—  DEW. —  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  WATER  DRINKING. —  THE 
INTERNAL  BATH. —  DAILY  REQUIRED  WATER. —  HOW  TO  DRINK  AND 
WHEN  TO  DRINK. —  WHAT  TO  DRINK. —  FRUIT  JUICES. —  SOURCES 
OF  WATER. —  HARD  AND  SOFT  WATERS. —  WATER  CONTAMINATION. 

—  POLLUTED     WELLS. —  LAKE     SEWAGE. —  IMPURE     ICE. —  LEAD 
POISONING. —  SPARKLING     WATER. —  WORMS     AND     PARASITES. — 

—  WATER     PURIFICATION. —  FILTERS. —  ADULTERATED     WATERS. — 
WATER  IN  DISEASE. —  GOITRE. —  HOT  WATER. —  OVER-DRINKING. — 

—  CARBONATED  WATER. 

WATER  is  the  most  abundant  and  widely  distributed 
of  all  chemical  compounds.  Two  atoms  of  hydro- 
gen combined  with  one  of  oxygen,  produces  water  —  the 
chemical  formula  being  H2O.  Water  is  a  well-nigh  uni- 
versal solvent,  as  the  vast  majority  of  all  solids  and  chemical 
elements  are  soluble  in  it. 

PHYSICS    AND    CHEMISTRY   OF   WATER. 

In  both  health  and  disease,  water  is  the  most  largely  used 
of  Nature's  chemical  compounds,  owing  largely  to  the  fact 
that  it  abounds  in  almost  every  part  of  the  world,  and  that 
it  is  quite  readily  obtainable  in  its  three  different  states  — 
solid  ice,  liquid  water,  and  gaseous  steam. 

Latent  heat.  Water  possesses  great  power  of  absorbing 
and  transmitting  heat,  holding  five  times  as  much  heat  as 
glass,  and  ten  times  as  much  as  iron.  The  heat  absorbed 
by  boiling  water  is  called  "  latent  heat,"  and  is  again  lib- 
erated when  the  steam  is  condensed.  Latent  heat  is  also 

176 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  177 

given  up  when  the  liquid  water  is  frozen  into  solid  ice.  It 
requires  almost  two  hundred  and  fifty  calories  of  heat  to 
evaporate  —  turn  into  steam  —  one  pound  of  water;  almost 
three  hundred  calories  to  evaporate  one  pound  of  ice  water. 
Thirty-five  calories  can  be  removed  from  the  body  by  the 
melting  of  a  pound  of  ice  in  contact  with  the  skin. 

Steam  holds  an  enormous  amount  of  latent  heat,  and  the 
condensation  of  one  pound  of  steam  will  raise  the  tempera- 
ture of  eleven  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air  to  130°.  (This  is 
the  amount  of  air  in  a  room  10  X  10  X  n  feet.) 

This  latent  heat  is  the  unrecorded  heat  —  the  heat  stored 
in  liquids  and  gases  which  prevents  their  changing  form, 
and  which  cannot  be  measured  by  the  thermometer. 

When  water  is  boiled  in  an  open  vessel,  it  never  rises 
above  212°  F.,  however  hot  the  fire,  until  it  is  all  evapo- 
rated. The  excess  of  heat  all  the  while  is  being  locked  up 
in  the  steam  and  carried  away  as  latent  heat.  As  it  re- 
quires heat  to  change  a  solid  into  a  liquid,  or  a  liquid  into 
a  gas,  all  liquids  and  gases  are  found  to  contain  latent  heat. 
This  stored-up  heat  of  liquids  and  gases  is  given  out  and 
can  be  easily  recognized  when  the  liquid  becomes  a  solid  or 
the  gas  becomes  a  liquid. 

Freezing  mixtures.  These  mixtures  are  based  upon  the 
laws  of  latent  heat.  Salt  ,and  ice  form  a  good  freezing 
mixture  because  the  salt  causes  the  ice  to  melt,  owing  to  its 
great  affinity  or  attraction  for  water  (you  always  get  thirsty 
after  eating  much  salt) ;  but  the  solid  ice  cannot  become 
liquid  to  satisfy  the  chemical  cravings  of  the  salt  for  water, 
unless  it  can  get  heat,  for  it  requires  heat  to  transform  a 
solid  (the  ice)  into  a  liquid  (water).  This  explains  the 
freezing  of  the  cream  mixture  in  the  can.  The  heat  is 
actually  abstracted  from  the  milk  to  melt  the  ice;  and  so 
while  the  solid  ice  is  turning  to  liquid  water,  the  liquid  cream 
mixture  is  giving  up  its  latent  heat  and  gradually  turning 
into  solid  ice  cream. 

Moisture.  The  ability  of  the  atmosphere  to  absorb  mois- 
ture depends  largely  upon  its  temperature.  A  cubic  foot  of 
air  at  32°  F.  holds  but  two  grains  of  water,  while  at  72°  it 


178  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

holds  eight  grains,  and  at  96°  sixteen  grains.  Therefore,  a 
room  20  X  13  X  10  feet,  containing  dry  warm  air  at  96°, 
would  be  able  to  absorb  about  five  pounds  of  water.  Mois- 
ture in  the  air  somewhat  hinders  respiration. 

Expansion.  Water  expands  on  being  heated,  until  at  the 
point  of  turning  into  steam,  it  increases  in  volume  seventeen 
hundred  times.  On  the  other  hand,  water  contracts  in  vol- 
ume as  it  is  cooled,  until  within  just  a  few  degrees  of  the 
freezing  point,  when  it  suddenly  expands  with  great  force. 
This  explains  the  bursting  of  pipes,  earthen  vessels,  etc., 
in  which  water  is  allowed  to  freeze. 

Capillarity.  This  is  the  property  possessed  by  liquids  of 
ascending  in  tubes  or  long  solid  bodies  which  they  are  able 
to  moisten.  Practical  illustrations  of  this  power  are  the 
oil  rising  in  the  lamp-wick,  the  ink  which  is  taken  up  by 
the  blotting  paper,  and  the  rising  of  the  sap  in  all  plants  and 
trees. 

Dialysis.  This  is  the  process  by  which  water  containing 
certain  salts  in  solution  passes  through  solid  earthenware 
walls,  carrying  the  dissolved  salts  right  along  with  it. 
Many  substances,  like  the  white  of  an  egg,  will  not  pass 
through  solid  walls  when  dissolved  in  water,  unless  they 
are  previously  acted  upon  by  the  ferments  found  in  the 
digestive  fluids. 

Compressibility.  Liquids  are  very  nearly  incompressible. 
The  water  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  is  but  little  more  dense 
than  that  at  the  surface.  It  is  this  property  of  incompres- 
sibility  that  permits  of  the  construction  of  the  hydraulic 
press.  By  the  use  of  this  principle,  in  addition  to  that  of 
the  lever,  the  amount  of  work  one  man  can  perform  is 
enormously  increased. 

Equilibrium  of  liquids.  That  water  seeks  its  highest 
level  is 'a  law  known  to  everyone,  illustrated  by  the  spirit 
level  of  the  carpenter  and  the  artesian  or  overflowing  well. 
Liquids  also  possess  a  displacement  or  uplifting  power, 
—  a  power  which  may  be  expressed  by  stating  that  solid 
bodies  immersed  or  floating  in  liquids,  lose  a  part  of  their 
weight  equal  to  the  weight  of  the  water  which  they  dis- 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  179 

place.  This  explains  the  otherwise  mysterious  phenomenon 
of  a  solid  steel  vessel  actually  floating  on  water. 

Distillation.  Distillation  combines  the  twofold  process  of 
evaporation  and  condensation.  To  distil  water,  we  first  con- 
vert it  into  steam.  All  impurities  and  foreign  matter  con- 
tained in  the  water  are  left  behind.  This  steam  is  condensed 
by  cooling;  it  is  turned  into  distilled  water  —  rain  water  — 
free  from  all  foreign  substances. 

The  principle  of  the  water  still  is  very  simple.  We  need 
only  to  boil  the  water  and  allow  the  steam  to  pass  upward 
to  collect  in  pipes  or  a  condensing  chamber,  the  other  end 
of  which  is  cooled  by  running  water,  ice,  or  chemicals. 
The  coldness  of  this  chamber  condenses  the  steam  as  it 
passes  through,  and  allows  the  pure,  distilled  water  to  be 
drawn  away. 

Dew.  The  formation  of  dew  is  a  simple  process  of  natu- 
ral distillation.  The  dew  point  is  the  temperature  at  which 
the  saturated  atmosphere  begins  to  condense,  or  precipitate 
its  watery  vapors.  This  is  beautifully  illustrated  when  a 
pitcher  is  filled  with  ice  water  on  a  summer's  day.  The 
layer  of  air  in  immediate  contact  with  the  pitcher  is  so 
quickly  cooled  that  its  vapor  is  suddenly  precipitated  as  dew 
on  the  outside  of  the  pitcher.  If  the  object  on  which  the 
dew  falls  has  a  temperature  below  the  freezing  point,  the 
dew  freezes,  and  this  is  called  hoar  frost.  We  do  not  have 
frost  on  very  cold  nights  when  clouds  hang  low  in  the  air, 
for  the  reason  that  these  overhanging  clouds  act  as  a  blanket, 
which  largely  prevents  the  loss  of  heat  by  radiation  from 
the  earth,  thereby  keeping  the  temperature  of  vegetation 
above  the  freezing  point,  and  thus  preventing  the  frost. 

THE   PHYSIOLOGY   OF   WATER   DRINKING 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  almost  every  cell  and  tissue  of 
the  living  body  is  composed  of  water.  It  is  absolutely  es- 
sential to  the  life  and  function  of  all  living  things.  Water  is 
the  circulating  medium  of  the  body,  from  which  the  digestive 
secretions  are  formed,  and  by  which  the  food  is  assimilated 
and  distributed  to  the  individual  cells.  And  finally,  water  is 


l8o  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

the  agent  for  dissolving  and  removing  waste  products  from 
the  body  through  the  various  eliminating  organs.  We  lit- 
erally live,  think,  and  have  our  being,  as  it  were,  under 
water.  The  tiny  cell  creatures  of  our  bodies,  from  the 
humble  bile-workers  of  the  liver  to  the  exalted  thinking 
cells  of  the  brain,  all  carry  on  their  work  submerged.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  amount  of  water  we  drink  each  day,  de- 
termines whether  the  liquids  circulating  through  our  tissues 
shall  be  pure,  fresh,  and  life-giving,  or  stagnant,  stale,  and 
death-dealing. 

Water  constitutes  from  10  to  95  per  cent  of  the  food 
eaten,  and  is  absorbed  into  the  blood  through  the  same 
channels  by  which  the  digested  food  is  taken  up.  Practically 
no  water  at  all  is  absorbed  from  the  human  stomach.  If 
liquids  are  drunk  at  meal  time,  they  will  have  to  pass  out 
of  the  stomach  into  the  intestine,  before  they  can  be  ab- 
sorbed through  the  intestinal  walls.  Thus  the  water  passes 
into  the  blood-stream,  and  its  elimination  from  the  body 
takes  place  through  the  kidneys,  the  skin,  the  lungs,  and 
the  bowels. 

Water  is  essential  to  the  entire  process  of  digestion  and 
nutrition,  as  all  the  ferments  of  the  body  act  upon  food 
substances  by  the  process  of  dividing  them  either  by  the  ad- 
dition or  abstraction  of  water. 

Thirst  is  the  expression  of  the  nervous  system,  constitut- 
ing a  call  for  water,  the  same  as  hunger  represents  a  call 
for  food.  Pure  water,  free  from  all  foreign  substances,  is 
the  best  liquid  with  which  to  quench  natural  thirst. 

THE   INTERNAL   BATH 

It  is  just  as  important  to  supply  abundance  of  water  for 
the  proper  bathing  and  cleansing  of  the  internal  parts  of 
the  body,  as  it  is  to  wash  and  bathe  the  external  skin  fre- 
quently. The  living  tissues  are  just  as  literally  soiled  and 
dirtied  by  their  life  action  and  their  poisonous  excretions, 
as  is  the  skin  soiled  by  its  excretions  of  sweat  and  poisonous 
solids.  Thus  the  regular  drinking  of  water  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  enable  the  body  to  enjoy  its  internal  bath,  and 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  l8l 

this  internal  cleansing  is  just  as  grateful  and  refreshing 
to  the  cells  and  tissues,  as  is  the  external  bath  to  the 
nerves  which  exist  in  the  skin. 

By  both  the  old  and  the  young,  water  must  be  taken  reg- 
ularly and  in  proper  amounts.  Even  young  children  and 
infants  but  a  few  days  old  should  regularly  receive  small 
quantities  of  water.  Infants  frequently  cry  for  water,  and 
receive  food  instead,  which  deranges  their  digestion  and 
upsets  their  nutrition.  There  must  be  a  regular  intake  of 
water  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

Water  can  be  called  a  food  only  when  it  contains  certain 
salts,  such  as  lime,  iodine,  iron,  etc.  If  the  food  eaten  con- 
tains an  insufficient  amount  of  these  salts,  it  is  possible  that 
the  body  may  secure  some  of  them  from  the  drinking 
water. 

Water  is  a  medicine  only  when,  by  natural  or  artificial 
processes,  it  has  dissolved  in  it  various  medicinal  ingredi- 
ents. Such  liquids,  whether  prepared  in  the  drug  store,  or 
secured  from  so-called  mineral  springs,  should  be  habitually 
used  only  upon  a  physician's  advice. 

While  some  animals,  like  the  camel,  are  able  to  go  for 
long  periods  with  but  a  little  water,  man  does  not  belong  to 
that  class.  He  requires  a  regular  intake  of  liquid  to  cor- 
respond with  the  amount  which  is  thrown  out  from  the  body 
through  the  various  channels  of  elimination. 

DAILY   REQUIRED   WATER. 

The  total  amount  of  water  necessary  varies  according  to 
the'  nature  of  one's  work,  the  amount  of  sweating  from  the 
skin,  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  the  amount  of  water 
in  the  food,  etc.  We  believe  the  average  person  requires 
about  eight  glasses  of  liquid  a  day;  that  is,  about  two 
quarts.  (By  the  word  "glass"  we  refer  to  the  ordinary 
glass  or  goblet,  two  of  which  equal  one  pint.)  The  Jap- 
anese, in  the  practice  of  their  jiu  jitsu  system,  drink  a  gallon 
of  water  a  day.  This  is  probably  in  excess  of  the  amount  re- 
quired by  the  average  person  of  sedentary  habits,  who  does 
not  take  vigorous  physical  exercise. 


I&2  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


HOW   TO   DRINK   AND   WHEN    TO   DRINK 

The  majority  of  people  need  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  reg- 
ular water-drinking.  As  a  rule,  Americans  drink  too  little 
pure  water  and  too  much  of  nearly  every  other  kind  of  liquid. 
Enormous  quantities  of  soft  drinks,  soda  waters,  and  other 
artificial  beverages,  from  the  weakest  soda-pop  up  to  the 
strongest  alcoholic  beverages,  are  consumed,  much  to  the 
detriment  of  the  consumers;  whereas  the  regular  habit  of 
pure  water-drinking  would  have  proved  of  inestimable  value 
to  the  health  of  all. 

Ordinarily  it  is  best  to  take  water  one  glass  at  a  time.  It 
is  a  good  plan  not  to  drink  much  water  within  half  an  hour 
before  eating,  and  the  majority  of  people  will  find  it  best 
not  to  take  much  liquid  for  two  hours  after  eating.  It  is 
best  not  to  drink  at  meals,  and  never  should  over  one  glass 
or  one  cup  of  liquid  be  taken  at  meal  time.  If  soups  or 
other  liquid  or  semi-liquid  foods  are  eaten,  it  will  be  found 
best  to  drink  nothing  at  meals. 

Those  who  have  the  least  tendency  to  dyspepsia  or  slow 
digestion,  had  better  take  no  liquids  at  meal  time.  Let  such 
take  one  or  two  glasses  of  water  half  or  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  before  meals,  so  as  to  enable  the  stomach  and  other 
organs  to  secrete  the  juices  required  for  digestion.  It  is 
because  there  is  too  little  water  in  the  blood-stream,  owing 
to  insufficient  water-drinking  before  meals,  that  some  peo- 
ple are  seized  with  such  uncontrollable  thirst  during  meal 
time. 

There  is  great  danger  in  taking  large  quantities  of  cold 
water  or  ice  water  when  one  is  overheated  or  greatly  ex- 
hausted. At  such  times,  cold  water  should  be  slowly  sipped 
to  permit  of  its  being  partially  warmed  while  passing  down 
the  throat  to  the  stomach.  The  best  temperature  for  drink- 
ing water  is  that  at  which  it  is  found  in  wells  and  springs, 
or  a  little  above,  say  from  65°  to  75°  F. 

The  daily  programme  for  regular  water-drinking  for  one 
who  eats  three  meals  a  day  should  run  about  as  follows: 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  183 

From  one-half  to  one  glass  of  water  on  rising. 

Two  or  three  glasses  of  water  in  the  forenoon  taken  about 
one  hour  apart  —  say  at  9:30,  10:30  and  11:30.  Or  a  glass 
or  a  glass  and  a  half  might  be  taken  at  10  and  n  o'clock. 

The  same  allowance  of  two  or  three  glasses  taken  in  the 
afternoon  —  say  at  3,  4,  and  5  o'clock. 

Most  people  will  also  want  some  water  after  the  evening 
meal,  taking  a  glass  between  8  and  9  o'clock,  or  at  bed- 
time. 

There  are  many  things  which  modify  the  amount  of  water 
that  should  be  taken,  as  previously  explained;  but  the  above 
programme  represents  a  systematic  scheme  for  cultivating 
the  water-drinking  habit,  adapted  to  persons  of  ordinary 
sedentary  or  indoor  employment,  such  as  business  men, 
housewives,  etc. 

WHAT   TO   DRINK 

Pure,  unadulterated  water  is  the  ideal  beverage,  adapted 
to  quench  the  natural  thirst  of  the  healthy  man  perfectly. 
Pure  water  is  colorless,  odorless,  and  tasteless.  It  should 
contain  no  foreign  substance,  animal  matter,  or  mineral  ele- 
ment. 

The  addition  of  sugar,  flavoring  extracts,  ginger  or  other 
condiments,  alcohol,  tea,  coffee,  cocoa,  or  chocolate,  consti- 
tutes adulteration  of  water  and  detracts  from  its  value  as  an 
ideal  health  beverage.  It  results  in  the  cultivation  of  an  un- 
natural taste..  Thousands  of  people  detest  water,  and  will 
not  drink  it  if  they  can  obtain  any  other  liquid.  Such  per- 
sons need  to  reform  their  taste  and  train  their  thirst  to  ap- 
preciate water,  just  as  the  appetite  must  sometimes  be 
trained  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  pure  and  simple  food. 

FRUIT   JUICES 

In  the  condemnation  of  so-called  artificial  beverages,  an 
exception  should  be  made  of  the  fruit  juices.  The  fresh, 
unfermented  juices  of  various  fruits  come  very  near  being 
pure,  distilled  water,  as  they  consist  of  only  a  little  fruit 


1 84  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

sugar  and  acid,  together  with  small  amounts  of  flavoring 
and  coloring  substances,  dissolved  in  pure  water.  None  of 
these  substances  contained  in  pure  fruit  juice  needs  to  be 
digested.  While  they  are  foods,  they  are  predigested  by  the 
sunshine  in  Nature's  own  laboratory,  so  that  unfermented 
fruit  juice  is  a  genuine  food-beverage,  satisfying  the  de- 
mands of  thirst  by  means  of  its  distilled  water,  and  contrib- 
uting its  sugar  and  acids  as  foods  to  the  body  without  in  any 
way  taxing  the  digestive  organs. 

Lemonade,  not  too  sweet,  and  taken  in  moderate  quanti- 
ties, is  certainly  a  beverage  free  from  objection  when  used 
by  individuals  in  ordinary  health.  And  so  fruit  or  fruit 
juices  can  partly  take  the  place  of  water  in  the  daily  require- 
ment of  liquids. 

There  is  absolutely  no  foundation  for  the  popular  prej- 
udice against  fruits  and  melons  as  a  cause  of  summer  com- 
plaints, or  when  eaten  late  in  the  fall,  as  a  source  of  malarial 
fever,  etc.  Unripe  or  overripe  fruits  frequently  cause  bowel 
disturbances;  as  also  do  the  millions  of  germs  which  lurk 
upon  the  outside  of  fruits,  and  which  find  their  way  into  the 
stomach  and  bowels  when  these  fruits  are  eaten  raw  with- 
out washing  or  paring.  Otherwise  the  juices  of  fruits  and 
melons  are  wholesome  food  beverages  and,  when  consumed 
in  moderation,  can  only  contribute  to  our  health  and  happi- 
ness. 

The  fruit  acids  are  very  valuable  for  disinfecting  drink- 
ing water  in  emergencies.  At  times  when  water  is  sus- 
pected and  it  cannot  be  boiled,  it  is  valuable  to  remember 
that  the  juice  of  one  small  lemon  will  almost  completely 
sterilize  a  glass  of  water  in  thirty  minutes.  Water  treated 
in  this  way  is  pretty  certain  to  be  free  from  typhoid,  dysen- 
tery, and  other  infectious  diseases,  which  are  commonly  con- 
tracted through  the  channel  of  drinking  water.  If  lemons 
or  limes,  which  are  very  strong  in  fruit  acids,  are  taken  in 
too  large  quantities,  they  are  liable  to  derange  digestion. 
Some  people  are  especially  susceptible  to  the  action  of  these 
acids  upon  the  stomach. 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  185 

SOURCES   OF   WATER 

Our  drinking  water  is  secured  from  many  and  varied 
sources,  differing  in  various  localities,  cities,  towns,  and  vil- 
lages. A  thousand  and  one  things  conspire  to  jeopardize  the 
purity  of  our  modern  sources  of  drinking  water.  The  pro- 
tection of  our  water  supply  constitutes  one  of  the  great  san- 
itary problems  of  this  age,  one  —  fortunately  for  the  health 
of  the  people  —  which  is  receiving  more  and  more  attention 
as  the  years  pass. 

1.  Rain    or  snow   water.    The   primary    source    of   pure 
water  is  from  rainfall  in  tropical  climes  and  during  the  sum- 
mer; or  from  the  mountain  streams   and  snowfall  in  the 
winter  season.    This  water  is  pure  at  its  source  and,  if  un- 
contaminated  in  transmission,  presents  an  exceptionally  pure, 
soft  water  —  the  ideal  beverage.     Except  in  the  open  coun- 
try, rain  water  is  never  perfectly  pure.     In  the  cities  the 
rainfall  absorbs  so  much  impurity  that  the  water  is  some- 
times found  to  be  actually  acid  in  reaction.    The  rain  in  fall- 
ing absorbs   gaseous   impurities,   dust,   microbes,   etc.    The 
practice  of  catching  the  rain  water  from  the  dirty  roofs  of 
city  dwellings  is  exceedingly  dangerous,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  disease  dangers   connected  with   storing  it  in  cisterns 
which  are  not  properly  constructed  and  cared  for. 

The  waters  derived  from  the  melting  snows  of  the  moun- 
tain, if  properly  collected  and  stored,  constitute  an  ideal 
water  supply  for  towns  and  cities. 

2.  Spring  water.    The  nature  of  spring  water  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  character  of  the  soil  through  which  it  has 
passed,  as  well  as  the  chemical  nature  of  the  strata  upon 
which  the  water-bed  constituting  its  source  rests.     Springs 
are  simply  the  outcroppings  of  an  underground  water-vein. 
When   coming  from   sandstone,   they  often  resemble   pure, 
soft  water;  whereas  the  springs  which  arise  from  water- 
beds  passing  through  limestone  and  other  chemicals,  may 
vary  in  composition  from  water  of  exceeding  hardness  to 
mineral  waters,  ranging  from  those  having  medicinal  quali- 


1 86  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ties  to  those  which  are  actually  poisonous.  On  the  whole, 
spring  water,  especially  in  country  regions,  is  found  to  be 
pure,  and  if  not  too  hard,  constitutes  a  good  beverage. 

3.  Well  water.    Wells  are  commonly  spoken  of  as  shal- 
low and  deep.    The  water  of  shallow  wells  should  never  be 
used  for  drinking  purposes,  although  it  is  sometimes  given  to 
cattle.     The  wholesomeness  of  deep  well  water  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  lay  of  the  land,  the 
drainage,  etc.,  together  with  the  surrounding  dangers  of  con- 
tamination.   Wells   in   cities,   near   graveyards,   near  barn- 
yards, near  cesspools,  or  in  low  lands,  are  to  be  regarded 
with  suspicion.     Really  the  only  safe  form  of  well  is  the 
driven  well,  or  so-called  artesian  well,  which  passes  below 
one  or  two  dense  strata  of  rock,  and  draws  its  supply  from 
what  is  commonly  called  the  "  second "  or  "  third "  water. 
This   water   is   usually  perfectly   free   from   contamination. 
These  wells  present  an  unbroken  pipe  from  the  surface  to 
the  water  supply,  and  thus  avoid  contamination  from  sur- 
face drainage  and  many  other  dangers  to  which  the  ordinary 
dug  or  open  well  is  exposed. 

Well  water  is  found  to  be  hard  or  soft,  owing  to  its  loca- 
tion and  depth.  Some  waters  are  exceedingly  hard;  others 
approach  rain  water  in  their  degree  of  softness. 

4.  River   water.    River    water    is    frequently    used    as    a 
source  of  supply  for  cities  and  villages.     If  the  river  stream 
can  be  kept  free  from  sewage  and  other  sources  of  pollution 
for  some  distance  above  the  intake  of  the  water  supply,  it 
frequently  constitutes  a  fairly  good  source  of  drinking  water, 
especially   if   filtered.     Running   water   has   a   tendency   to 
purify  itself.     Polluted  streams  of  water,  if  allowed  to  run 
through  the  open  country  for  a  number  of  miles,  marvel- 
lously purify  themselves.    This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
deposit  many  impurities  in  the  river  bed  or  along  the  banks. 
Impurities  are  destroyed  by  the  combined  action  of  sunlight 
and  pure  air,  while  an  important  part  of  the  purification  is 
carried  on  by  means  of  certain  microbes  and  water  organ- 
isms.   The  use  of  river  water  for  drinking  purposes  must 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  187 

be  looked  upon  as  questionable,  unless  the  water  is  known  to 
be  good. 

5.  Lake  water.     Many  lakes  contain  water  which  is  al- 
most purely  soft,  much  resembling  rain  water.    The  large 
lakes  which  have  an  outlet,  if  their  shores  can  be  kept  un- 
polluted, and  sewage  can  be  excluded,  represent  an  almost 
ideal  water  supply  for  great  cities.     The  city  of  Chicago  has 
spent  an  enormous  amount  of  money  in  the  construction  of  a 
drainage  canal  in  the  effort  to  keep  the  waters  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan free  from  pollution  and  suitable  for  drinking  purposes. 

6.  Sea  water.    Water  as  it  comes  from  the  ocean  is  unfit 
for  drinking  purposes,  but  it  may  be  purified,  as  on  board 
modern  ships,  by  the  process  of  distillation,  which  allows 
the  salt  to  be  left  behind  and,  upon  condensation,  yields  pure, 
soft  drinking  water. 

7.  Distilled  water.    Distilled  water  can  be  made  from  any 
water,  and  distillation  is  the  one  absolutely  sure  way  of  puri- 
fying suspected  drinking  water.    It  is  sold  in  most  large 
cities,  under  various  names,  and  is  distilled  by  the  simple 
process  before  described. 

HARD   AND   SOFT   WATERS 

Soft  water  is  simply  pure  rain  or  snow  water.  Waters 
are  called  hard  when  they  hold  in  solution  varying  amounts 
of  mineral  salts,  etc. 

Hard  waters  are  divided  into  two  classes:  those  of  tempo- 
rary hardness  and  those  of  permanent  hardness.  Hard 
waters  are  usually  recognized  from  the  fact  that  when 
making  a  lather,  their  lime  salts  form  insoluble  curds  with 
the  fatty  acids  of  the  soap.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to 
use  extra  quantities  of  soap  in  producing  a  lather  with  these 
hard  waters. 

Temporary  hard  waters  are  those  which  contain  the  vari- 
ous carbonate  salts.  These  salts  are  changed  by  boiling  and 
the  hardness  of  the  water  is  greatly  lessened.  These  car- 
bonates are  deposited  on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  tea- 


1 88  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

kettle,  as  a  hard,  white  crust.  The  permanent  hard  waters 
do  not  precipitate  this  lime-like  crust  on  boiling;  in  fact, 
boiling  has  practically  no  effect  on  their  hardness.  Perma- 
nent hardness  is  due"  to  the  presence  of  sulphates,  chlorides, 
and  nitrates. 

Hard  waters  are  not  so  wholesome  as  soft  waters  for 
drinking  purposes.  It  is  even  possible  that  the  long-contin- 
ued use  of  very  hard  water  may  result  in  introducing  such  a 
great  quantity  of  lime  salts  and  other  inorganic  elements  into 
the  body,  as  to  favor  a  hardening  of  the  arteries,  and  to  pro- 
duce other  diseases  due  to  the  presence  of  an  excess  of  lime 
in  the  blood. 

By  using  chemicals,  most  hard  waters  can  be  softened  so 
as  to  be  suitable  for  laundry  purposes. 

WATER   CONTAMINATION 

Rain  water  is  contaminated  by  atmospheric  impurities, 
dirty  roofs,  and  unclean  cisterns.  The  dangers  of  contami- 
nation to  rain  water  are  so  great  and  so  many,  that  in  cities 
and  villages  it  is  unsafe  to  use  such  water  for  drinking  pur- 
poses. While  spring  water  may  be  contaminated  by  barn- 
yard filth,  or  polluted  by  the  nearness  of  its  supply  veins  to 
a  graveyard,  the  chief  source  of  contamination  of  spring 
water  is  from  its  water-beds  resting  on  or  passing  over  cer- 
tain poisonous  chemicals  such  as  arsenic,  iodine,  etc.  The 
water  from  some  springs  is  inordinately  hard  and  really  un- 
fit for  drinking  purposes. 

Polluted  wells.  Well  water,  especially  that  from  ordinary 
dug  wells,  is  subject  to  contamination  from  many  sources. 
Some  well  water  is  exceedingly  hard  —  so  hard  as  to  render 
it  unfit  for  use.  Water,  to  be  suitable  for  drinking  purposes, 
should  not  contain  over  twenty-five  grains  of  lime  or  mag- 
nesia salts  to  the  gallon.  Wells  are  subject  to  contamina- 
tion from  vaults,  cesspools,  barnyards,  etc.  Typhoid  fever, 
dysentery,  and  cholera  may  be  spread  in  this  way.  Well 
water  of  doubtful  purity  should  invariably  be  boiled  before 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING 

using.  In  fact,  the  disease-dangers  of  water  from  an  ordi- 
nary dug  well,  are  so  great  that  the  use  of  such  water  should 
be  forbidden  by  statute;  the  law  should  compel  all  wells  to 
be  "  driven,"  so  as  to  prevent  contamination  of  their  waters 
from  soil  and  surface  drainage. 

River  water,  from  which  many  cities  take  their  supply, 
may  be  contaminated  from  sewage,  as  well  as  from  the  chan- 
nels through  which  it  flows. 

Lake  sewage.  Lake  water  is  frequently  contaminated  by 
the  sewage  of  near-by  cities  emptying  into  the  lake.  There 
is  great  danger  to  the  city  water  supply  from  contaminations 
of  lakes  or  reservoirs.  Epidemics  of  typhoid  fever  have 
scourged  many  cities  as  the  result  of  the  carelessness  of  a 
single  typhoid  fever  patient  dwelling  near  the  sources  of  the 
water  supply  of  the  city.  The  water  may  be  contaminated 
by  germs  or  animal  excretions,  and  the  only  safe  course 
to  take  when  the  purity  of  the  water  is  suspected,  is  to 
boil  it. 

Impure  ice.  There  is  great  danger  of  spreading  infec- 
tious diseases  through  impure  ice.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  freezing  does  not  destroy  all  germs.  Typhoid 
fever  and  other  disease  germs  can  live  for  months  in  a 
cake  of  solid  ice  and  then,  with  the  melting  of  the  ice,  re- 
new their  pernicious  activities  and  produce  fatal  disease. 
Ice  should  not  be  put  directly  in  the  drinking  water  to  melt, 
unless  it  is  of  attested  purity,  or  unless  it  is  artificial  ice 
made  from  distilled  water. 

Lead  poisoning.  There  is  danger  of  contamination  of 
drinking  water  while  passing  through  lead  pipes.  For  this 
reason,  iron  pipes  are  preferable  to  the  lead.  Lead-con- 
taminated water  is  exceedingly  dangerous  when  there  is 
more  than  one-twentieth  of  a  grain  of  lead  to  the  gallon. 
The  habitual  use  of  water  containing  even  smaller  amounts 
is  dangerous.  Fortunately,  lead  pipes  which  convey  hard 
waters,  or  waters  containing  carbonates,  are  dangerous  only 
when  new,  as  the  carbonates  rapidly  form  an  insoluble  coat- 


190  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ing  over  the  lead;  but  even  with  this,  it  is  a  good  habit  to 
allow  the  water  standing  in  lead  pipes  to  run  through  the 
faucet  a  moment  before  drinking  it.  Under  no  circumstances 
should  cisterns  be  lined  with  lead. 

Diarrhoea  and  many  of  the  summer  complaints  of  the  great 
cities  are  due,  not  alone  to  impure  or  contaminated  milk,  but 
also  to  the  presence  of  the  germs  causing  these  diseases,  in 
the  drinking  water. 

Sparkling  water.  Water  is  commonly  thought  to  be  pure 
when  it  is  clear  and  sparkling.  The  attention  of  the  reader 
is  called  to  the  fact  that,  ordinarily,  sparkling  constitutes 
serious  evidence  Qf  impurity  and  contamination.  The  spark- 
ling CO2  waters  of  the  mountainous  regions  are  unquestion- 
ably pure,  but  it  should  be  remarked,  in  this  connection,  that 
the  water  from  wells  near  graveyards  invariably  sparkles 
and  emits  small  bubbles  of  gas.  This  is  evidence  of  con- 
tamination. 

Worms  and  parasites.  The  water  supplies  of  cities  may 
be  contaminated  not  only  by  the  germs  of  the  diseases  be- 
fore noted,  but  also  by  so-called  "  iron  "  bacteria,  which  are 
comparatively  harmless,  but  discolor  the  water  and  clog  the 
channels.  Drinking  water  may  also  contain  the  eggs  of  the 
round  worm  of  the  hog,  as  well  as  the  eggs  of  the  intestinal 
parasites  of  other  animals,  which,  when  taken  into  the  human 
system,  will  develop  and  grow.  Amoebic  dysentery,  a  grave 
form  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  is  produced  by  the  presence  of 
certain  little  animals  in  the  drinking  water. 

WATER    PURIFICATION 

There  are  many  methods  for  the  purification  of  water, 
which  have  been  advocated  in  recent  years  —  some  adapted 
to  the  large  water  supplies  of  cities  and  towns,  and  others  to 
the  household.  Very  few  are  entirely  satisfactory;  the  ma- 
jority are  wholly  inadequate  —  even  deceptively  dangerous. 
The  following  are  the  methods  of  natural  and  artificial  puri- 
fication. 

i.  Sedimentation.  Coarse  impurities,  earthy  deposits  of 
clay,  and  other  filth,  settle  to  the  bottom  of  standing  water  or 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING 

running  streams  when  the  current  is  not  too  swift.     In  this 
way,  rivers  polluted  by  sewage  are  partially  purified. 

2.  Oxidation.     By  oxidation  is  meant  the  actual  burning 
up  of  poisonous  elements  contained  in  the  water  which  is 
exposed  to  air  and  sunlight.     Numerous  germs  assist  in  this 
work  of  oxidation. 

3.  Precipitation.    Water  may  be  purified  and  hard  water 
rendered  soft  by  the  precipitating  action  of  chemicals. 

4.  Dilution.    Rivers  and  lakes  are  purified,  when  contami- 
nated by  sewage,  by  having  fresh  water  emptied  into  them 
through  their  tributaries  or  by  fresh  water  springs  in  their 
beds. 

5.  By    living    organisms.    Certain    algae,     the    so-called 
"  water-plant,"  together  with  the  infusoria,  are  great  puri- 
fiers of  the  water  through  the  process  of  oxidation.    It  is 
the  presence  of  these  little  organisms  in  the  gravel  and  on 
the  bricks  of  the  large  city  filters,  that  probably  has  more 
than  anything  else  to  do  with  purifying  the  water. 

6.  Microbes.    The  microbes  of  putrefaction,  which  prey 
upon  organic  matters  and  animal  wastes,  are  also  a  great  aid 
in  purifying  the  water  of  contaminated  pools  and  streams. 

7.  Filtration.    Filtration    might    be    termed    an    artificial 
method  of  purification.    Filters  are  built  on  a  large  scale  for 
cities  as  follows : 

The  first  reservoir  is  called  the  settling  basin.  Here  the 
water  is  allowed  to  stand  until  earthy  impurities  settle  to 
the  bottom.  It  is  then  siphoned  off  into  the  sand  and  gravel 
tank  —  the  filter  proper.  The  water  first  passes  through  fine 
sand.  It  next  passes  through  fine  gravel,  where  it  is  ex- 
posed to  the  purifying  influence  of  masses  of  the  little  green 
water-plant.  Each  successive  layer  of  gravel  increases  in 
size  until  it  passes  over  a  lower  layer  of  bricks.  This  con- 
stitutes a  fairly  effective  filter.  The  upper  layers  of  sand 
and  small  gravel  require  to  be  changed  or  washed  through 
running  water  occasionally  for  cleansing. 

Filters.  Mechanical  filtration  is  commonly  used  for  the 
household  and  for  manufacturing  establishments.  The  water 


192  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

is  forced  by  pressure  through  earthenware  cylinders,  and  it 
was  at  one  time  thought  that  these  filters  would  arrest  the 
passage  of  germs  and  thus  effectively  purify  the  water,  but 
recent  investigations  have  shown  that  these  filters  are  all  a 
snare  and  a  delusion.  No  filter  has  yet  been  devised  which  is 
thoroughly  effective. 

The  charcoal  filters  in  a  very  short  time  become  a  veritable 
hotbed  for  the  development  of  germs.  Filtered  water  can- 
not be  relied  upon  as  being  pure;  at  best,  it  is  but  one  of 
the  uncertain  methods  of  obtaining  pure  drinking  water. 

8.  Distilled  or  boiled  waters.  Boiling  is  the  best  method 
of  home  purification  of  impure  water.  Water  should  be 
boiled  twenty  minutes;  better  thirty  minutes.  The  only  ob- 
jection to  boiled  or  distilled  water  is  that  it  usually  tastes 
flat.  This  unpleasant  taste  is  easily  overcome  by  pouring 
the  water  from  vessel  to  vessel,  allowing  it  to  pass  through 
the  air  a  few  times,  as  this  flat  taste  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
all  air  has  been  driven  out  by  boiling.  Boiled  or  distilled 
water,  when  properly  aerated,  possesses  a  taste  in  every  way 
satis  fat  co  ry. 

If  one  cannot  get  pure  soft  water  from  driven  wells,  or 
from  the  mountain  snows,  or  from  other  satisfactory  sources, 
distilled  water  undoubtedly  represents  the  ideal  pure  water, 
and  when  properly  aerated,  as  suggested  above,  is  wholly 
satisfactory  from  every  standpoint. 

The  tests  for  impure  water  are  somewhat  complicated, 
and,  in  order  to  be  reliable,  should  be  made  by  those  more 
or  less  familiar  with  laboratory  methods.  We  will  not  un- 
dertake to  give  these  tests  here,  but  advise  that  suspected 
water  be  either  boiled  or  carefully  tested  by  a  competent 
chemist. 

ADULTERATED   WATERS 

In  this  connection,  we  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  a  large  amount  of  the  water  consumed  by  civilized  races 
for  drinking  purposes  is  more  or  less  adulterated.  While 
much  of  this  adulterated  water  is  not  highly  injurious,  we 


PURE  WATER  DRINKING  193 

regard  it  as  none  the  less  unfortunate  that  an  artificial  taste 
has  been  acquired  for  these  artificial  beverages. 

We  have  spoken  at  length  of  the  value  of  fruit  juices,  etc., 
as  beverages.  They  are  natural  products,  but  we  can  but 
regard  tea,  coffee,  chocolate,  cocoa,  and  a  host  of  soft  drinks 
—  soda  water,  ginger  ale,  and  pop,  together  with  the  more 
injurious  and  objectionable  alcoholic  beverages,  both  dis- 
tilled and  fermented,  as  questionable  adulterations  of  that 
universal  beverage,  pure  water.  These  adulterations  are  not 
calculated  to  promote  the  health  of  the  race,  but  in  every  way 
they  produce  an  artificial  craving  which  water  is  unable  to 
satisfy,  and  thus  contribute  to  the  creation  of  that  thirst 
which  sometimes  requires  the  strongest  of  artificial,  and  even 
intoxicating,  beverages  to  quench. 

WATER   IN   DISEASE 

The  external  use  of  water  in  the  form  of  baths,  will  be 
dealt  with  in  another  chapter.  We  desire  in  this  place  to 
emphasize  the  importance  of  taking  abundance  of  water  in 
the  majority  of  acute  and  chronic  diseases.  Especially  is  it 
necessary  to  drink  abundantly  when  suffering  from  fever. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  give  fever  patients  at  least  one  glass  of 
cold  water  every  hour  they  are  awake. 

In  cases  of  fever  and  many  other  diseases,  fresh,  unfer- 
mented,  unsweetened  fruit  juice  is  an  ideal  food  beverage, 
supplying  the  patient  with  pure  distilled  water  and  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  fruit  sugar,  which  requires  no  digestion,  but 
which  abundantly  nourishes  and  strengthens  the  white  blood 
cells  of  the  body  for  their  battle  against  infection. 

Patients  suffering  from  rheumatism  and  other  intoxi- 
cations, should  take  not  less  than  two  quarts  of  water  every 
twenty-four  hours.  It  is  best  that  this  should  be  taken  at 
intervals  during  the  day,  in  small  quantities,  as  suggested 
elsewhere. 

Goitre.  Waters  containing  magnesia  are  thought  by  some 
to  cause  goitre,  but  that  these  waters  are  responsible  for 
this  disease  is  seriously  questioned  by  many  medical  authori- 
ties at  present.  It  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  in  most  locali- 
13 


194  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ties  where  goitre  prevails,  the  waters  are  very  hard  and  con- 
tain large  quantities  of  magnesia. 

Hot  water.  The  practice  of  drinking  warm  water  before 
meals  is  not  a  good  one,  except  in  cases  of  catarrh  of  the 
stomach  or  acid  dyspepsia.  Persons  suffering  from  these 
conditions  are  sometimes  benefited  by  taking  one-half  to  one 
glass  of  hot  water  one-half  hour  before  meals,  for  a  few 
weeks. 

Overdrinking.  There  is  danger  of  overdrinking  on  the 
part  of  some;  especially  is  this  true  if  water  is  taken  two  or 
three  glasses  at  a  time.  The  stomach  may  be  over-distended 
and  a  foundation  laid  for  permanent  dilatation.  Again,  per- 
sons suffering  from  a  dilated  stomach,  or  from  a  weak,  di- 
lated heart,  as  well  as  those  who  have  chronic  Bright's  dis- 
ease, are  sometimes  harmed  by  drinking  too  much  water. 

In  order  to  store  water  in  the  body,  it  is  necessary  to 
drink  it  in  small  amounts  at  frequent  intervals.  When 
water  is  taken  in  large  quantities  at  one  time,  it  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  immediately  eliminated  by  the  kidneys. 

Carbonated  water.  Carbonated  water,  that  is,  water 
charged  with  CO2  gas  —  is  more  easily  assimilated  than  or- 
dinary water.  It  appears  to  rest  very  lightly  on  the  stomach, 
and  in  many  cases  of  stomach  trouble  it  is  a  very  acceptable 
beverage. 

Attention  is  again  called  to  the  fact  that  meal  time  is  not 
the  proper  time  to  drink.  Practically  all  animals  refuse  to 
drink  during  their  meals,  and  in  this  respect  they  set  a  wise 
example  for  their  masters,  v/ho  are  supposed  to  be  possessed 
of  superior  intelligence. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

REGULAR  BATHING,  OR  THE  CLEAN  LIFE 

THE  SKIN  AND  KIDNEYS. —  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  KIDNEYS. 

—  PALE    SKIN. —  SKIN    NERVES. —  SUNBURN. —  THE    KIDNEYS. — 
OVERWORKED  KIDNEYS. —  HYGIENIC  BATHING. —  MORNING  BATH- 
ING.—  A    POWERFUL   NATURAL   TONIC. —  THE   CLEANSING   BATH. — 

BATHING  FACILITIES. —  OUTDOOR  BATHING. —  THE  NEUTRAL  BATH. 

—  THE  HOT  BATH. —  THE  COLD  BATH. —  TONIC  BATH. —  INFANT 
BATHING. —  BATHS  IN  FEVER. —  BATHS  FOR  THE  AGED. —  BATHING 
HINTS. 

IN  both  structure  and  function,  the  skin  and  kidneys  are 
much  alike,  and  may  profitably  be  considered  together 
in  connection  with  the  subject  of  bathing  and  elimination. 

THE   SKIN   AND   KIDNEYS 

The  skin  consists  of  two  layers  or  groups  of  cells  —  the 
true  skin,  or  dermis,  and  the  outer  skin,  or  epidermis.  The 
outer  layer  of  cells  in  the  epidermis  is  of  a  horny  nature; 
at  the  ends  of  the  toes  and  fingers  it  is  greatly  hardened  to 
form  the  nails.  Hairs  are  special  outgrowths  from  the  hair 
follicles  embedded  in  the  skin.  The  skin  contains  numerous 
oil-glands  which  empty  by  spiral  ducts  upon  the  surface. 
The  sweat-glands  are  embedded  in  the  skin  and  also  have 
ducts  leading  to  the  surface.  In  addition  to  numerous  blood- 
vessels -*r  little  veins  and  arteries  —  the  skin  contains  a  large 
number  of  nerves,  including  the  nerves  of  temperature, 
touch,  pain,  location,  and  numerous  sympathetic  nerves. 

The  average  person  possesses  about  seventeen  square  feet 
of  skin.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  two  and  a-half  million 
sweat-glands  in  the  skin.  The  area  of  the  openings  of  all 
these  little  sweat-glands  is  about  eleven  thousand  square 

195 


196  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

feet.  That  is,  the  body's  sewer  system  which  has  its  open- 
ings in  the  sweat-glands  of  the  skin,  if  represented  by  a 
single  eliminating  tube  with  but  one  opening,  would  have 
an  emptying  or  discharging  surface  equal  to  eleven  thou- 
sand square  feet.  In  many  parts  of  the  body  there  are  about 
twenty-five  hundred  little  sweat-pores  to  the  square  inch; 
while  the  uniting  of  all  the  sweat-ducts,  end  to  end,  which 
are  coiled  up  in  the  skin,  thus  making  a  single  tube,  would 
make  a  sewer  more  than  ten  miles  long. 

The  kidney  is  divided  into  numerous  compartments,  each 
containing  vast  numbers  of  excreting  tubules  which  are 
lined  with  epithelium,  and  whose  general  structure  much 
resembles  that  of  the  skin.  Arteries  and  veins  are  liberally 
supplied,  and  as  the  blood  circulates  through  these  vessels, 
certain  poisons  found  in  the  blood-stream  are  selected  by  the 
kidney  and  excreted  (really  secreted)  through  its  walls  into 
the  urinary  tubules,  which  carry  the  urine  through  the 
ureters  to  the  bladder.  (Fig.  17.) 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  urinary  tubules  of  the  kid- 
neys, if  all  were  united  end  to  end,  would  form  a  single 
drainage  tube  over  fifteen  miles  in  length.  Just  above  the 
kidney,  there  is  a  structure  called  the  suprarenal  body, 
which  secretes  certain  substances  that  raise  and  lower  the 
blood  pressure. 

PHYSIOLOGY   OF   THE   SKIN   AND   KIDNEYS 

The  healthy  skin  is  warm  to  the  touch,  slightly  moist,  or 
oily,  elastic,  free  from  eruptions,  and  reacts  promptly  to 
rubbing  or  cold  water.  The  skin  is  one  of  the  important 
organs  of  the  body;  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  functionating 
organ,  and  not  as  a  mere  protective  covering.  Owing  to  its 
rich  supply  of  blood-vessels  and  nerves,  it  exerts  a  power- 
ful influence  upon  the  body  for  health  or  disease. 

Pale  skin.  The  blood-vessels  of  the  skin  can  hold  more 
than  half  of  all  the  blood  in  the  body ;  therefore,  in  all  cases 
of  pale  skin,  cold  hands  and  feet,  etc.,  the  blood  which  prop- 
erly belongs  in  the  skin  must  be  found  in  some  of  the  in- 


REGULAR  BATHING  197 

ternal  organs  which  are  more  or  less  over-distended  and  con- 
gested. From  this  it  follows  that  the  pale,  anaemic  skin 
usually  means  congestion  of  some  internal  organ  from  an  over 
supply  of  blood  —  producing  inflammations,  etc.  The  weak- 
est organ,  of  course,  will  suffer  most,  and  this  will  deter- 
mine whether  the  individual  has  headache,  stomach  trouble, 
constipation,  or  more  likely,  portal  (liver)  congestion,  re- 
sulting in  biliousness,  the  blues,  etc. 

Skin  nerves.  The  various  nerves  ending  in  the  skin, 
make  it  possible,  by  the  application  of  heat  and  cold,  rub- 
bing, etc.,  very  wonderfully  to  control  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  in  the  internal  organs.  This  is  possible  because  of  the 
fact  that  certain  parts  of  the  skin  are  supplied  by  nerves 
coming  from  the  same  centres  that  also  send  nerves  to  cer- 
tain internal  organs.  Thus  the  skin  comes  to  be  a  sort  of 
keyboard,  by  which  the  physician  may  operate  and  control 
the  internal  mechanism  of  the  body,  to  regulate  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood,  etc.  This  is  the  basis  for  the  modern 
scientific  use  of  water  and  other  forms  of  heat  and  cold  in 
the  treatment  of  disease. 

Sunburn.  The  skin,  when  long  exposed  to  the  direct 
rays  of  sunlight,  reacts  to  the  chemical  rays  of  the  sunshine 
by  producing  a  mild  condition  of  inflammation,  commonly 
called  sunburn.  The  skin  that  is  sunburned,  or  thoroughly 
tanned,  has  a  better  circulation  of  blood  through  it  than  the 
white,  pale  skin  of  sedentary  persons  and  those  who  live  in- 
doors. 

The  outer,  horny  layer  of  the  skin  is  constantly  dying,  and 
must  be  removed  by  bathing  and  rubbing.  It  is  for  the  re- 
moval of  these  dead  scales  of  the  skin  that  animals  go  in 
quest  of  the  "  rubbing-post."  This  is  the  purpose  of  daily 
grooming  the  horse.  It  is  certainly  true  that  some  men  take 
better  care  of  their  horses'  skins  than  they  do  of  their  own. 
The  skin  must  also  be  frequently  washed  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  the  surface  clean  and  removing  the  poisonous  ex- 
cretions which  are  emptied  out  upon  its  surface  by  the 
myriads  of  sweat-glands. 


198  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

THE    KIDNEYS 

The  kidneys,  in  the  excretion  of  urine,  present  a  problem 
difficult  of  solution.  The  kidney  cells  seem  to  possess  a 
power  of  selection  that  borders  close  on  intelligence.  They 
select  certain  substances  from  the  blood  and  pass  them 
through  their  walls  out  into  the  urinary  canals.  Other  sub- 
stances which  are  useful  to  the  body  are  untouched.  Again, 
the  kidney  will  not  secrete  sugar  found  in  the  blood  until 
it  reaches  a  certain  per  cent  —  an  amount  harmful  to  the 
body,  and  then  it  begins  the  energetic  secretion  of  sugar 
through  the  urine.  As  in  the  case  of  the  salivary  and  other 
digestive  glands,  the  kidneys  present  a  problem  in  secretion 
that  is  not  wholly  explained  by  the  principles  of  either 
physics  or  chemistry. 

The  kidneys  excrete  a  portion  of  the  water  contained  in 
the  blood,  in  the  effort  to  keep  the  blood  at  the  proper  con- 
sistency. They  maintain  the  balance  in  the  water  supply 
of  the  body,  consequently  the  more  one  sweats,  the  less  urine 
will  be  passed.  A  decrease  in  the  amount  of  water  drunk 
will  also  decrease  the  urine.  The  color  of  the  urine  varies 
from  day  to  day.  In  health  it  is  something  of  a  straw-color. 
Urinary  deposits,  as  ordinarily  observed,  are  meaningless. 
They  sometimes  represent  grave  disease ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  healthy  urine,  if  allowed  to  stand  when  containing 
certain  elements,  will  present  deposits  of  a  brick-dust  ap- 
pearance. 

Overworked  kidneys.  The  kidneys  are  greatly  injured 
and  overworked  by  the  eating  of  too  much  protein  —  such 
substances  as  meat,  dried  beans,  and  cheese.  Protein  ashes, 
as  previously  noted,  must  be  eliminated  through  the  kidneys. 
Alcohol,  tobacco,  and  other  narcotics  also  greatly  overtax 
and  prematurely  wear  out  the  kidneys.  Bright's  disease  is 
manifested  where  these  organs  have  been  long  overworked, 
inflamed,  and  so  worn  out  as  the  result  of  abuse,  that  they 
refuse  to  do  their  normal  work. 

Failure  to  drink  regularly  a  proper  amount  of  water  al- 
lows the  urine  to  become  high-colored  and  concentrated; 


REGULAR  BATHING  199 

this  is  very  irritating  to  the  kidneys,  and  no  doubt  results  in 
more  or  less  injury  to  these  organs.  The  health  of  the  kid- 
neys, therefore,  depends  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  regular 
water-drinking  habit  as  outlined  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

HYGIENIC   BATHING 

No  one  but  the  physician  can  know  how  extensively,  how 
shamefully,  regular  bathing  is  neglected  by  the  American 
people.  While  this  matter  of  personal  cleanliness  is  no 
doubt  one  which  is  improving  from  year  to  year,  there  is 
still  a  vast  portion  of  the  population  who  remain  utterly  in- 
different to  the  disease-dangers  which  follow  the  neglect  of 
systematic  bathing.  Some  one  has  said  that  regular  bathing 
divides  the  population  into  two  great  classes,  and  that  in 
the  social  evolution  of  the  future,  there  will  be  found  a  great 
sociological  gulf  between  the  bathers  and  the  non-bathers, 
as  a  result  of  the  influence  of  this  hygienic  practice  upon  the 
mind  and  morals,  as  well  as  upon  the  body. 

We  are  aware  that  some  have  arisen  among  our  own  pro- 
fession, to  declare  that  bathing  is  unnatural  and  unneces- 
sary; and  we  willingly  admit  that  the  savage,  whose  skin  is 
constantly  exposed  to  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  has  little  need 
of  frequent  bathing.  Nevertheless,  the  bath  is  a  hygienic 
necessity  to  the  civilized  races  of  this  day,  whose  skins  not 
only  accumulate  microbes  and  filth  upon  their  surface  as  a 
result  of  our  habits  of  dress,  but  are  also  debilitated,  inactive, 
and  sluggish,  as  a  result  of  our  indoor  and  other  unnatural 
modes  of  living;  all  of  which  undesirable  conditions  are 
greatly  helped,  prevented,  or  relieved  by  frequent  warm, 
cleansing  soap  baths,  followed  by  short  applications  of  cold 
water. 

The  neglect  of  regular  bathing  results  in  weakening  the 
function  of  the  skin  as  an  eliminating  organ,  and  this  throws 
extra  work  upon  both  the  kidneys  and  the  liver.  Neglect 
of  bathing  produces  a  debilitated  condition  of  the  skin,  which 
so  weakens  the  body  as  to  render  its  owner  a  constant  vic- 
tim of  colds,  etc. 

In  short,  regular  bathing  is  an  antidote  for  the  wearing  of 


200  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

clothes.  It  serves  in  a  measure  to  undo  the  mischief  wrought 
by  indoor  living  and  physical  inaction.  Hot  and  cold  water, 
together  with  vigorous  rubbing  of  the  skin,  produce  a 
nervous  and  circulatory  reaction  that  would  be  natural  and 
spontaneous  if  our  skins  were  properly  exposed  to  fresh  air 
and  sunlight,  and  if  the  sweat-glands  were  daily  exercised 
by  profuse  perspiration. 

MORNING   BATHING, 

Morning  bathing  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  hygienic  prac- 
tice. If  properly  taken,  the  cold  bath  harms  no  one  and 
will  do  positive  good  to  the  majority  of  people  in  good  or 
average  health.  The  cold  morning  bath  may  be  taken  in 
the  form  of  a  wet  hand  rub,  wet  towel  rub,  cold  sponge,  the 
full  bath  plunge,  etc.  It  is  well  for  beginners  to  make  use 
of  the  sponge  bath,  or  the  wet  hand  rub,  and  take  the  more 
vigorous  baths  later,  if  agreeable. 

Persons  of  nervous  temperament  —  those  who  are  emaci- 
ated or  under  weight  —  will  find  it  best,  especially  in  the 
winter,  to  take  their  cold  morning  bath  in  a  warm  room  and, 
as  a  rule,  to  precede  it  by  a  short  application  of  hot  water. 
Such  persons  are  benefited  by  the  reaction  they  obtain  from 
the  cold  morning  bath,  but  they  can  ill  afford  to  lose  the 
heat  and  nervous  energy  which  are  required  to  react  from 
the  cold  water.  Such  thin-blooded  and  emaciated  individ- 
uals do  far  better  to  borrow  the  necessary  heat  to  react 
from  the  cold  morning  bath,  from  a  short  warm  bath  taken 
immediately  before  the  cold  bath.  In  carrying  out  this  plan, 
one  could  take  a  hot  shower  for  a  few  moments,  followed 
by  the  cold  shower,  or  rub  the  body  thoroughly  with  hot 
water,  followed  by  cold  rubbing,  or  cleanse  the  body  with 
warm  water,  and  then,  standing  up  in  the  bathtub,  have 
several  pailfuls  of  cold  water  quickly  poured  over  them. 

A    POWERFUL   NATURAL   TONIC 

The  cold  bath  taken  morning  by  morning  serves  as  a  tonic 
to  the  whole  system.  It  is  a  course  of  gymnastics  for  the 


23 


I 


REGULAR  BATHING  2OI 

skin.  If  practised  continuously,  it  will  greatly  improve  the 
health  and  activity  of  the  skin,  and  by  keeping  the  blood 
circulating  properly  through  the  skin,  it  will  be  of  great 
service  to  the  healthy  action  of  every  internal  organ.  It  is 
one  of  the  best  preventives  of  cold  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted. By  frequent  cold  bathing  the  skin  becomes  ac- 
customed to  low  temperatures,  so  that  drafts  are  unable  to 
disturb  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  The  morning  cold  bath 
should  always  be  followed  by  prolonged  and  vigorous  rub- 
bing of  the  skin  with  a  coarse  Turkish  towel  or  other  ma- 
terial with  a  rough  surface. 

When  one  washes  the  face  with  cold  water  on  arising  in 
the  morning,  it  will  be  recalled  how  refreshed  he  feels  im- 
mediately after.  This  refreshment  results  from  the  applica- 
tion of  water  to  but  a  few  square  inches  of  skin  surface  on 
the  face,  as  its  skin  is  reflexly  related,  through  the  nervous 
system,  to  the  brain.  The  cold  bathing  of  the  face  produces 
sensations  just  as  if  the  brain  itself  had  been  bathed,  and 
this  accounts  for  the  marked  awakening  influence.  Various 
other  organs  of  the  body  are  just  as  grateful  for  the  refresh- 
ment which  the  application  of  cold  water  to  the  skin  brings 
them,  even  if  they  do  not  possess  the  nervous  means  of  ex- 
pressing their  gratitude  as  in  the  case  of  the  brain. 

THE   CLEANSING   BATH 

Regular  cold  morning  bathing  will  not  suffice  to  keep  the 
skin  clean  and  healthy  from  week  to  week.  Not  less  than 
twice  a  week  (some  individuals  require  at  least  three  baths 
a  week)  a  hot  soapsuds  bath  should  be  taken.  It  is  best  to 
take  this  bath  just  before  retiring,  as  it  should  be  hot  enough 
and  long  enough  to  induce  free  perspiration.  One  should 
stand  up  in  this  hot  bath  and  moisten  the  hair  and  face  — 
at  least  the  face  —  in  cold  water,  before  immersing  the 
body.  This  is  to  protect  the  blood-vessels  of  the  brain  and 
prevent  headaches  or  possible  rupture  of  small  vessels  in  the 
brain  from  the  sudden  rush  of  blood  to  the  head.  It  is  well 
to  lie  in  the  bath  from  five  to  ten  minutes,  until  sweating  is 
well  established,  and  then  the  body  can  be  thoroughly  lath- 


202  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ered  with  soap,  vigorously  rubbed  with  a  coarse  shampoo 
brush,  flesh  sponge,  or  rough  Turkish  washcloth,  after  which 
the  body  is  again  immersed  in  the  hot  water  for  from  three 
to  five  minutes.  Arising  from  the  hot  immersion  bath,  the 
skin  should  be  immediately  cooled  and  toned  up  by  the  quick 
application  of  cold  water,  accompanied  by  vigorous  rubbing. 
This  can  be  done  by  means  of  the  cold  shower,  the  pouring 
of  a  bucket  of  water  over  the  shoulders,  or  by  cold  hand 
rubbing.  After  this  the  skin  should  be  carefully  dried  and 
fanned  with  a  sheet  or  towel  until  the  body  feels  comfort- 
able —  neither  overheated  nor  chilly.  Then  go  at  once  to 
bed,  and  see  that  the  covering  is  so  adjusted  for  a  few  mo- 
ments that  the  skin  does  not  break  out  in  perspiration. 

Individuals  in  good  health,  who  are  not  troubled  with  fre- 
quent colds,  will  find  this  bath  taken  two  or  three  times  a 
week  to  represent  all  the  bathing  necessary  to  keep  the  skin 
clean  and  in  good  health.  If  the  skin  circulation  is  good, 
hands  and  feet  always  warm,  and  the  skin  otherwise  healthy, 
the  health  does  not  demand  that  one  should  take  cold  morn- 
ing baths.  However,  the  regular  cold  morning  bath  will 
certainly  do  even  such  healthy  individuals  no  harm.  With 
such  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  choice  and  convenience  whether 
or  not  they  take  morning  baths. 

BATHING   FACILITIES 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  men  and  women  of  educa- 
tion will  spend  thousands  of  dollars  in  artistic  furnishing 
and  unnecessary  ornamentation  of  their  homes,  and  utterly 
neglect  to  provide  adequate  bathing  facilities  and  other 
hygienic  requirements.  Many  a  mansion  has  a  bathroom  too 
small  to  permit  the  placing  of  even  a  full-length  bathtub  — 
one  long  enough  to  allow  the  bather  to  recline  during  the 
bath.  The  bathroom  of  the  future  should  be  more  gener- 
ous, to  permit  of  showers  and  at  least  a  full  bathtub  in  which 
the  weekly  soap  wash  can  be  taken  with  comfort.  Room 
should  also  be  provided  for  at  least  a  folding  bath  cabinet 
for  taking  a  sweat  bath  at  times  when  some  member  of  the 
family  is  threatened  with  a  cold.  At  but  small  expense,  an 


REGULAR  BATHING  203 

electric  light  bath  cabinet  could  be  added  to  the  bathroom, 
which  probably  represents  the  ideal  form  of  sweat  bath. 
Space  should  also  be  provided  for  a  narrow  treatment  or 
massage  table,  which  could  be  used  for  various  home  treat- 
ments —  such  as  hot  blanket  packs,  etc. 

Every  bathroom  should  be  supplied  with  an  enema  can 
that  will  hold  two  or  three  quarts  of  water,  as  it  is  certainly 
more  desirable  to  resort  to  the  warm  soapsuds  enema  for 
relieving  obstinate  constipation  now  and  then,  than  to  de- 
pend entirely  upon  irritating  drugs  and  cathartics.  The  fre- 
quent flushing  of  the  bowel  is  liable  to  produce  the  "  enema 
habit,"  but  even  this  is  probably  not  so  harmful  as  the 
"  cathartic  habit."  The  undesirable  results  of  washing  out 
the  bowel  with  warm  water  can  be  somewhat  antidoted  by 
the  practice  of  taking  a  small  enema  of  cool  water,  after  the 
bowel  has  been  thoroughly  cleansed  and  emptied.  This 
tones  up  the  relaxed  bowel  and  greatly  aids  in  producing 
natural  movements  the  following  day. 

OUTDOOR   BATHING 

Summer  bathing  is  an  excellent  health  practice  if  not  over- 
done. The  swimming-tanks  now  so  common  in  connection 
with  gymnasiums,  are  a  great  blessing  to  the  people.  The 
public  baths  of  our  great  cities  are  a  godsend  to  the  poor. 
The  author  was  connected  with  the  movement  to  establish 
the  first  free  baths  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  It  was  a  common 
sight  to  see  scores  of  men  standing  in  line  as  early  as  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  waiting  for  their  turn  to  get  a  free 
bath.  Now  the  city  has  erected  numerous  well-equipped, 
splendid  bathing  establishments  in  different  sections,  for  the 
accommodation  of  its  citizens. 

In  many  of  the  swimming  tests  and  outdoor  water  sports, 
the  exercise  is  certainly  greatly  overdone,  and  often  injures 
the  health. 

While  sea  bathing  is  a  most  healthful  and  hygienic  prac- 
tice, it  is  much  overdone,  especially  by  frail,  delicate  in- 
dividuals. Sea  water  is  a  good  skin  tonic,  and  on  account 
of  its  low  temperature,  as  well  as  its  salt,  it  is  very  beneficial 


204  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

to  the  skin  and  general  health,  if  one  does  not  stay  too  long 
a  time  in  the  water.  Too  long  bathing  in  the  sea  overtaxes 
the  reactionary  powers  of  the  nervous  system  and  results  in 
the  loss  of  too  much  heat  on  the  part  of  the  body.  As  a  re- 
sult, the  individual  is  debilitated,  and  this  experience  is  fol- 
lowed by  headache,  lassitude,  and  depression.  Otherwise, 
outdoor  bathing,  swimming  in  lakes,  sea  bathing,  etc.,  are  to 
be  commended  as  wholesome  and  healthful. 

A  sudden  plunge  into  cold  water  upon  a  very  hot  day  is 
attended  with  grave  danger.  On  the  part  of  the  young  and 
robust,  it  is  attended  with  the  dangers  of  cramp  and  conse- 
quent drowning.  With  middle-aged  and  elderly  persons, 
there  is  great  danger  of  sunstroke  and  apoplexy,  especially 
the  latter. 

THE   NEUTRAL   BATH 

The  neutral  bath  is  given  at  a  temperature  of  95°  to  97° 
F.  It  should  not  be  above  or  below  these  temperatures. 
This  is  the  great  sleep-producing  bath.  While  this  book  is 
devoted  chiefly  to  the  discussion  of  the  preservation  of  health 
and  the  prevention  of  disease,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
mention  briefly  some  of  the  common  baths  which  may  be 
used  in  the  household  for  the  relief  of  sleeplessness,  pain, 
etc. 

When  tired,  exhausted,  nervous,  fidgety,  or  unable  to  sleep, 
one  should  avoid  both  hot  and  cold  baths.  As  a  rule,  they 
will  only  make  matters  worse,  whereas  the  neutral  bath, 
when  taken  with  a  thermometer  in  the  tub  so  as  to  main- 
tain a  temperature  of  about  95°  or  96°  throughout  the  bath, 
will  invariably  result  in  quieting  the  nerves,  resting  the  body, 
and  favoring  sleep. 

In  by  far  the  majority  of  cases,  the  resort  to  drugs  and 
sleeping  powders  to  obtain  rest  would  be  rendered  unneces- 
sary by  the  use  of  the  neutral  bath.  It  sometimes  requires 
two  or  three  nights  for  the  bath  to  give  the  best  results. 
Light  massage  or  gentle  rubbing  of  the  body  has  something 
of  the  same  effect  as  the  neutral  bath,  and  will  sometimes  put 
a  patient  to  sleep  as  effectually  as  a  dose  of  medicine. 


REGULAR  BATHING  2O$ 

After  taking  these  baths,  and  upon  going  to  bed,  one  should 
see  that  the  feet  are  warm,  using  a  hot  water  bottle  if  neces- 
sary. 

The  neutral  bath  or  a  slightly  warmer  bath  (about  100° 
F.)  is  of  great  value  in  quieting  nervous  children  and  even 
in  relieving  convulsions. 

THE   HOT    BATH. 

The  very  hot  bath,  or  sweat  bath  —  whether  taken  by 
means  of  the  vapor  cabinet  (Fig.  18),  electric  light  cab- 
inet, Russian  or  Turkish  baths,  the  hot  full  bath,  or  even 
the  hot  shower  or  spray  —  results  in  increasing  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  skin,  promoting  elimination,  and  greatly  in- 
creasing the  circulation  of  the  blood.  It  is  good  for  all  con- 
ditions of  pain  or  extreme  fatigue.  The  very  hot  bath  fol- 
lowing a  long  walk  is  the  best  means  of  preventing  muscle- 
soreness  the  next  day.  All  conditions  of  rheumatism,  gout, 
etc.,  are  greatly  helped  by  frequent  hot  bathing  or  sweating. 
When  one  is  coming  down  with  a  cold,  the  prolonged  hot 
bath  in  connection  with  the  drinking  of  hot  lemonade,  to- 
gether with  a  cathartic  and  thorough  cleansing  of  the  bowels 
by  enema,  will  often  prove  successful  in  breaking  it  up. 
The  uses  of  the  hot  bath  in  diseases  are  so  many  that  it  is 
impossible  to  describe  them  properly  in  a  work  of  this  size. 

THE    COLD    BATH 

The  cold  graduated  bath  is  started  at  about  95°  F.  and 
gradually  reduced  to  75°.  It  is  invaluable  in  the  treatment 
of  typhoid  and  other  long-continued  fevers;  but,  as  a  rule, 
these  baths  are  given  by  trained  nurses,  and  therefore  the  de- 
tails will  not  be  given  here. 

In  conditions  of  health,  the  cold  bath  will  be  found  of 
more  service  than  frequent  hot  bathing.  The  healthy  in- 
dividual should  limit  his  hot  baths  to  the  regular  soap 
washes  taken  at  night  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  skin 
clean.  If  other  baths  are  taken,  they  had  better  be  cool  or 
cold,  as  the  reaction  from  heat  is  depressing,  while  the  re- 


206  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

action  from  the  cold  bath  is  tonic,  invigorating,  and  strength- 
ening. 

Cold  bathing  is  useful  in  disease.  It  is  good  for  neuras- 
thenia or  nervous  prostration.  It  is  beneficial  in  most 
forms  of  dyspepsia  and  constipation.  In  fact,  the  modern 
science  of  medicine  possesses  no  more  powerful  means  of 
controlling  such  a  vast  number  of  diseases  as  is  found  in  the 
various  forms  of  local  and  general  cold  bathing. 

The  short  cold  bath,  either  with  or  without  the  preceding 
hot  bath,  is  a  hygienic  luxury  which  all  civilized  nations 
should  learn  to  appreciate.  The  quickened  circulation,  with 
the  red  glow  of  the  skin  and  the  feeling  of  renewed  strength 
and  well-being,  constitutes  the  reaction  from  the  short  cold 
bath ;  it  also  represents  that  condition  of  the  skin  which 
would  be  normal  and, natural  if  we  were  all  in  perfect  health, 
having  our  skins  constantly  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
air,  sunlight,  and  life  out  of  doors,  in  an  equable  climate, 
free  from  the  debilitating  influences  of  the  impure  air  of 
overheated  houses. 

TONIC    BATHING. 

Outside  of  the  ordinary  cleansing  baths,  the  majority  of 
people  need  to  take  baths  in  order  to  tone  up  the  skin  and 
nervous  system.  Tonic  bathing  is  effected  by  the  use  of 
both  hot  and  cold  water.  The  alternate  application  of  hot 
and  cold  is  the  most  powerful  known  tonic  to  the  skin  cir- 
culation and  nervous  system.  The  hot  water  should  be 
taken  first  —  followed  by  the  cold.  For  instance :  supposing 
that  one  has  an  ordinary  overhead  shower  bath.  The  water 
should  be  turned  on  as  hot  as  can  be  borne  for  about  one 
minute  (the  time  can  be  longer  or  shorter,  adapted  to  the 
comfort  and  pleasure  of  the  patient).  The  hot  water  should 
be  instantly  turned  off  and  cold  water  —  as  cold  as  obtain- 
able —  should  be  immediately  turned  upon  the  body.  The 
cold  water  should  be  taken  from  five  to  twenty  seconds 
(this  time  can  also  be  made  a  little  longer  or  shorter,  suited 
to  the  comfort  of  the  patient).  The  cold  water  should  be  in- 
stantly shut  off  and  the  hot  water  turned  on  again  for  about 


REGULAR  BATHING  207 

one  minute;  then  the  cold  water,  etc.,  etc.  Always  begin 
with  hot  and  end  with  cold.  This  constitutes  the  ideal  tonic 
course  of  treatment. 

Thousands  of  people  who  are  lingering  to-day  in  semi- 
invalidism,  could  cure  themselves  by  taking  some  such  daily 
course  of  tonic  treatment,  followed  by  vigorous  rubbing  of 
the  skin  and  a  short  walk  in  the  open  air  —  of  course,  in  the 
meantime,  giving  due  attention  to  other  matters  of  hygiene 
as  regards  diet,  sleep,  etc. 

Tonic  baths  are  best  taken  in  the  morning  directly  on 
rising,  or  during  the  forenoon.  As  a  rule,  it  is  best  to  avoid 
taking  such  treatment  at  night,  when  the  nervous  system  is 
tired  and  the  body  worn  out. 

These  tonic  baths  are  good  for  the  majority  of  individ- 
uals who  are  not  seriously  sick,  but  who  are  not  in  the  best 
of  health.  Tired  feelings  upon  waking  up  in  the  morning, 
dyspepsia,  constipation,  biliousness,  obesity,  pale  skin,  cold 
hands  and  feet,  headaches,  catarrh,  frequent  colds,  sluggish 
circulation,  nervousness,  etc.,  are  greatly  relieved  and  often- 
times entirely  cured  by  this  variety  of  treatment. 

INFANT   BATHING 

Perhaps  the  bathing  of  infants  is  not  so  generally  neg- 
lected as  formerly;  nevertheless,  the  majority  of  children, 
especially  in  large  cities,  are  under-bathed.  'It  should  be  re- 
membered that  children  under  five  or  six  years  of  age  do 
not  react  well  to  cold  water;  therefore  it  is  not  wise  to  un- 
dertake any  heroic  courses  of  cold  bathing  for  infants  or 
young  children.  Beginning  with  the  infant  of  a  few  days 
old,  the  warm  bath  should  be  given  daily,  or  at  least  every 
other  day.  As  the  child  becomes  a  year  old,  the  temperature 
of  the  water  can  be  slightly  lowered.  At  one  to  two  years 
of  age,  the  babe  can  be  safely  cooled  by  wetting  the  hands 
with  water  cooler  than  the  bath.  At  three  years  of  age,  the 
child  may  be  safely  cooled  off  by  pouring  over  it  water  some- 
what colder  than  the  warm  bath.  At  four  or  five,  he  will 
stand  cool  bathing  moderately  well,  and  by  the  time  he  is 


208  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

five  or  six  years  of  age,  will  react  very  well  to  all  ordinary 
cold  baths  and  cold  finishings  of  warm  baths. 

BATHS   IN    FEVER 

In  reducing  the  fever  of  children  by  means  of  baths,  it  is 
best  not  to  use  the  cold  bath  as  it  is  sometimes  used  with 
adults,  but  to  use  the  graduated  bath.  That  is,  put  the 
child  in  the  bath  at  a  temperature  of  about  95°  F.  and  lower 
the  temperature  one  or  two  degrees  every  two  or  three 
minutes,  until  by  this  means  the  bath  is  gradually  brought 
down  to  from  65°  to  75°.  The  skin  can  be  rubbed  all  the 
while  to  prevent  chilling. 

Some  authorities  recommend  bathing  children  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  there  are  some  things  to  be  said  in  favor  of  this 
practice.  The  author  has  for  some  time  practised  giving 
children  their  baths  just  before  retiring.  The  little  ones 
are  more  or  less  worn  out  from  the  day's  activity;  and, 
especially  to  children  from  one  to  three  years  of  age,  who 
are  able  to  run  about,  the  evening  bath  just  before  the  last 
meal  is  very  grateful  and  aids  in  promoting  refreshing  sleep 
and  rest. 

BATHS   FOR   THE   AGED 

People  above  sixty  years  of  age,  or  those  with  hardened 
arteries  and  high  blood-pressure,  cannot  safely  indulge  in 
the  vigorous  bath  practices  of  their  earlier  years.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  change  the  temperatures  in  the  alternate  hot  and 
cold  baths  very  slowly  for  old  people.  They  do  not  stand 
cold  water  so  well  for  the  reason  that  the  skin  is  losing 
its  power  of  reaction  —  it  is  becoming  leathery  and  inelastic. 
Likewise,  the  sudden  application  of  very  cold  water  is  at- 
tended with  more  or  less  danger  of  rupturing  the  small 
blood-vessels  in  the  brain.  Even  old  people  with  high  blood- 
pressure  can  stand  a  moderate  amount  of  cold  water,  and 
should  always  end  their  hot  baths  with  short  applications 
of  cold;  but  it  must  be  done  more  carefully  and  judiciously 
than  in  the  case  of  the  young  and  robust. 


REGULAR  BATHING  209 


BATHING   HINTS 

1.  It  is  unhealthful  and  dangerous  to  take  a  general  bath 
immediately    after    eating.     One    should    not    bathe    for    at 
least  two  hours  after  a  hearty  meal.     Short  sponge  baths 
or  wet  hand  rubs  may  be  safely  taken  within  an  hour  or 
an  hour  and  a  half  after  meals,  but  even  they  are  best  taken 
after  the  lapse  of  two  hours. 

2.  Fleshy  people  should  take  alternate  hot  and  cold  baths. 
That  is,  sweating  baths,  electric  light  baths,  etc.,  until  the 
perspiration  runs  freely;  then  a  cold  shower  from  one  to 
two  minutes,   followed  by   exercises;   then  more   sweating, 
more    cold    water,    and    more    exercises,    according   to    the 
strength  of  the  patient.    This  is  the  best  reducing  treatment. 
Reducing  by  sweating  alone  is  very  weakening  and  burns 
up  the  muscles  as  well  as  the  fat. 

3.  Those  who  fear  cold  water  should  begin  by  rubbing 
cold  water  or  ice  water  vigorously  on  one  part  of  the  body 
at  a  time,  like  the  two  arms.    Then  rub  the  chest,  the  back, 
the  legs,  etc.     In  this  way,  within  a  week  or  two,  even  the 
most  timid  will  learn  to  enjoy  cold  water. 

4.  There   is   danger  of  over-hot  baths  or  over-sweating, 
especially  to  thin  people,  and  those  with  weakened  hearts 
and  kidney  diseases. 

5.  It  is  not  a  good  plan  to  swim  vigorously  just  before 
eating,  or  to  take  any  other  form  of  extremely  hot  or  cold 
bath  immediately  before  the  meal.     At  least  thirty  minutes 
should  elapse  between  these  vigorous  baths  and  eating. 

6.  In  swimming,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  overwork  the 
heart,  as  it  may  be  dilated  and  permanently  injured.     Re- 
member that   cramps   are   acquired  on   very  hot  days,   es- 
pecially when  entering  the  water  in  a  state  of  fatigue  or 
perspiration. 

7.  The  ordinary  individual  should  have  a  healthy  reaction 
following  the  cold  bath  and  friction  within  one  or  two  min- 
utes.    If  the  reaction  is  longer  delayed,  hot  water  should  be 
employed  before  the  bath. 

14 


210  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

8.  The  duration  of  baths  — 

Very    cold    baths,    from  I  to    5  seconds. 

Cool  baths,  10  to  30  seconds. 

Tepid   and   warm   baths,  i  to    2  minutes. 

Hot  baths,  5  to  15  minutes. 

Very  hot  baths,  not  over  i  to    2  minutes. 

Neutral   baths    (95°   to  97°)    may  be  con- 
tinued indefinitely. 

9.  If  one  wants  to  secure  the  tonic  or  strengthening  ef- 
fect of  baths,  lower  the   temperature  a  little  each  day  or 
every  few  days. 

10.  Children,   or   very   nervous   and   weak   persons,    must 
begin  cool  or  cold  bathing  gradually    as  they  are  likely  to 
be  exhausted  from  the  reaction. 

11.  Methods  which  influence  and  favor  reaction  from  cold 
baths : 

The  colder  the  water,  the  stronger  and  quicker  the  reaction. 

The  better  reaction  is  secured  from  icewater  briefly  applied, 
than  from  warmer  water  longer  applied. 

Patients  with  high  fever  always  react  well  to  cold  water. 

Strong  persons  in  ordinary  flesh  react  best,  but  the  very  fat 
and  very  thin  react  poorly. 

Persons  never  react  well  when  fatigued. 

Those  who  are  used  to  cold  baths  react  best. 

Persons  who  have  a  great  fear  of  cold  water  are  not  likely  to 
react  well,  until  this  fear  is  overcome  or  the  skin  is  trained  to 
react  to  cold. 

12.  As  a  rule,  a  short  brisk  walk  in  the  open  air  or  some 
other   form  of  physical  exercise   is  beneficial,  immediately 
after  the  cold  morning  bath. 

13.  Pain  is  best  relieved  by  heat  —  hot  salt  bags  or  the 
hot  water  bottle,  or  flannels  wrung  out  of  boiling  water  and 
applied  with  a  dry  flannel  between  the  fomentation  and  the 
skin.     From  three  to  six  applications  should  be  made  to  re- 
lieve pain. 

14.  Dizziness,  headache,  chilly  sensations  running  up  and 
down   the   back,   or   sleeplessness    following   baths,    indicate 
that  the  bath   was  too  vigorous;   or,  in  the   case  of  cold 


Wrapped  in  wet  sheet  and  covered  with  dry  sheets 


Wrapped  in  bath  sheets  &/7C/ 


FIG.  1  9.-    1  1  lustrations  of  fhe  Wet  Sheet  Pack. 


REGULAR  BATHING  211 

morning   baths,    that   short   hot   baths   should   precede   the 
cold  bath. 

15.  Do   not   forget   to  bathe   the   mouth   regularly.    The 
toilet  of  the  mouth  consists  of  two  parts: 

a.  The  proper  cleaning  or  washing  of  the  teeth  by  means  of 

some  slightly  antiseptic  tooth-paste  or  powder,  and 

b.  The  cleansing  of  the  mouth,  which  is  very  effectively  accom- 

plished by  means  of  ordinary  cinnamon  water. 

The  proper  care  of  the  mouth  demands  cleansing  each 
morning  upon  rising,  and  washing  after  each  meal.  Many 
dyspeptics  will  find  much  of  the  bad  taste  in  the  mouth 
disappearing,  if  this  is  regularly  practised. 

16.  When  threatened  with  cold,  the  hot  blanket  pack  is 
an  excellent  preventive.     The  blanket  is  wrung  out  of  boil- 
ing water  and  applied  as  hot  as  the  skin  can  stand,  with 
hot  water  bottles  placed  about  the  feet  and  legs,  cold  cloth 
on  the   head,   accompanied  by  the  liberal  drinking  of  hot 
lemonade.    After  this  bath,  the  skin  should  be  rubbed  all 
over  with  very  cold  water  and  a  rough  towel,  and  the  pa- 
tient put  to  bed. 

17.  The  wet  sheet  pack  is  an  excellent  means  of  relieving 
fever.    The  sheet  is  wrung  out  of  ice  water  and  frequently 
changed,  or  if  allowed  to  remain  about  the  patient,  who  is 
wrapped  up  in  a  blanket  in  addition,  until  it  becomes  warm, 
it  is  a  sleep-producing  and  quieting  measure.     (Fig.   19.) 

There  is  almost  no  end  to  the  uses  of  water  in  the  treat- 
ment of  disease;  but  since  this  volume  is  devoted  to  the 
consideration  of  health  rather  than  disease,  we  must  reserve 
the  further  discussion  of  the  treatment  of  disease  by  water 
and  other  natural  agencies,  for  the  future. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  CIRCULATION,   OR  THE  HIGH-PRESSURE  LIFE 

STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HEART  AND  BLOOD-VESSELS. —  PHYSIOLOGY  OF 
THE  CIRCULATION. —  THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  BLOOD. —  BLOOD  PURI- 
FIERS.—  BLOOD-MAKING  FOODS. —  BLOOD  PRESSURE. —  WHY  AMERI- 
CANS SUCCEED. —  THE  HIGH-PRESSURE  LIFE. —  RESULTS  OF  HIGH 
PRESSURE. —  HABITS  AND  PRACTICES  CAUSING  HIGH  BLOOD-PRES- 
SURE.—  NATURAL  PROCEDURES  WHICH  LOWER  PRESSURE. —  FALSE 
AND  HARMFUL  METHODS  OF  LOWERING  BLOOD-PRESSURE. —  NATURAL 
PROCEDURES  WHICH  RAISE  PRESSURE. 

THE  words  of  the  Old  Book  are  true:    "The  blood  is 
the  life."    The  blood  is  the  "  living  stream  that  turns 
the  wheels  of  life."     The  heart  is  a  living  pump,   and  its 
outbranching  blood-vessels  are  living  canals  through  which 
flows  the  vital  stream  of  life. 

STRUCTURE    OF   THE    HEART   AND    BLOOD-VESSELS 

The  heart  is  a  hollow,  muscular  organ  about  the  size  of 
the  fist.  (Fig.  20.)  It  consists  of  four  compartments,  two 
on  either  side.  The  heart  muscle  fibres  are  peculiar  to 
themselves,  resembling  both  voluntary  and  involuntary  mus- 
cle. The  two  lower  and  larger  chambers  of  the  heart  are 
called  ventricles.  The  upper  and  smaller  chambers  are 
called  auricles.  The  heart  contains  four  sets  of  valves 
which  guard  the  openings  between  its  various  chambers,  as 
well  as  the  large  vessels  leading  to  the  lungs  and  the  gen- 
eral circulation. 

Blood-vessels.  The  blood-vessels  consist  of  arteries,  veins, 
and  capillaries.  The  arteries  carry  the  blood  away  from  the 
heart  to  various  parts  of  the  body,  and  consist  of  three  dis- 
tinct layers, —  a  delicate  inner  lining,  called  endothelium, 
with  middle  and  outer  layers  of  muscular,  elastic,  and  con- 

212 


THE  CIRCULATION  213 

nective  tissues.  The  veins  are  not  so  strong  as  the  arteries ; 
their  walls  are  so  weak  that  they  ordinarily  collapse  when 
cut  crosswise.  The  larger  veins  contain  numerous  valve- 
like  arrangements  to  prevent  the  back  flow  of  the  blood. 
The  capillaries  are  a  system  of  small  blood-vessels  which 
connect  the  arteries  with  the  veins.  Like  the  arteries,  they 
possess  contractile  power. 

The  heart,  arteries,  and  veins  are  all  liberally  supplied 
with  blood-vessels  and  nerves,  as  these  canals  for  the  con- 
veyance of  the  living  stream  must  themselves  be  nourished 
by  the  blood.  Nerves  are  richly  distributed  throughout  the 
walls  of  all  the  blood-vessels,  even  to  the  capillaries. 

The  lymph  vessels  really  have  no  individual  structure. 
They  are  simply  spaces  between  the  tissues,  which  permit 
of  the  collection  of  lymph,  and  serve  to  conduct  it  back  to 
the  blood-vessels. 

PHYSIOLOGY   OF   THE   CIRCULATION. 

The  heart  beats  regularly  about  seventy  times  a  minute. 
It  is  a  pear-shaped  organ  with  the  apex  pointed  down.  It 
is  this  pointed,  lower  portion  of  the  heart  which  can  be 
felt  tapping  against  the  chest  wall,  just  below  the  fifth  rib, 
each  time  the  heart  beats.  The  beating  of  the  heart  pro- 
duces a  sound  something  like  "  lub-dup."  This  is  due  to 
the  movement  of  the  blood  through  its  chambers  and  the 
sudden  closure  of  its  valves,  and  may  be  compared  to  the 
thumping  and  clicking  sounds  of  the  pump  when  pumping 
water. 

The  heart  is  supplied  with  two  sets  of  nerves  —  one  which 
quickens  the  beat,  and  another  which  slows  it  down.  While 
the  heart  starts  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  its  movement 
is  maintained  by  a  contracting,  milking  action  of  the  arteries 
and  capillaries.  The  circulation  of  the  blood  is  also  as- 
sisted by  deep  breathing,  by  the  contraction  of  the  muscles, 
and  all  forms  of  physical  exercise.  The  heart  serves  as 
the  great  regulator  of  the  circulation,  constantly  beating, 
yet  ever  changing  its  beat;  pumping  sometimes  fast  —  at 


214  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

other  times  slowly;  constantly  altering  its  action  to  suit  the 
needs  and  requirements  of  the  body. 

The  circulation  of  the  body  fluids  is  divided  into  four 
distinct  systems  (Fig.  20),  as  follows: 

I.  The  pulmonary  circulation.  The  blood  is  emptied  by 
the  venous  system  into  the  right  side  of  the  heart.  Passing, 
while  the  heart  is  at  rest,  from  the  right  auricle  to  the 
right  ventricle,  it  is  forced  by  the  heart's  contraction  into 
the  vessel  leading  to  the  lungs  —  the  pulmonary  artery.  In 
the  lungs,  it  is  distributed  by  a  vast  and  wonderful  system 
of  small  capillaries  whose  walls  are  so  thin  that  they  permit 
of  the  exchange  of  gases  between  the  bodies  of  the  red 
blood  corpuscles  and  the  atmosphere  contained  in  the  minute 
air  chambers  of  the  lungs.  After  the  blood  has  in  this  way 
changed  its  poisonous  CO2  gas  for  the  life-giving  oxygen, 
it  is  gathered  up  by  other  capillaries  and  vessels  which  form 
the  pulmonary  vein,  and  that  vein  in  turn  discharges  the 
purified  blood  into  the  left  auricle  of  the  heart. 

2.  The  systemic  circulation.  During  the  resting  stage 
of  the  heart,  the  pure  blood  of  the  left  auricle  passes  into 
the  left  ventricle,  and,  during  the  heart's  contraction,  is 
forced  into  the  aorta  —  that  great  arching  artery  of  the 
chest,  which  sends  blood-vessels  upward  and  downward,  to 
branch  and  rebranch  to  every  part  of  the  living  body.  The 
arteries  carry  the  red  blood  —  the  healthy  blood.  As  the 
arteries  grow  smaller  and  smaller,  the  blood  moves  slower 
and  slower.  As  it  circulates  through  the  small  capillaries 
surrounding  the  living  cells  and  tissues,  the  red  blood  cor- 
puscles give  up  their  oxygen  and  absorb  the  poisonous  CO2 
and  other  gases. 

The  red  blood  corpuscles  not  only  carry  the  fresh  air  of 
the  lungs  to  every  part  of  the  body  to  keep  up  the  draft,  as 
it  were,  in  the  furnace  of  life,  they  perform  a  double  duty. 
In  addition  to  their  essential  work  as  air-carriers  they  as- 
sume the  role  of  smoke-carriers,  actually  removing  from 
the  body  the  smoke  —  consisting  of  carbon  dioxide  and  other 
poisonous  gases  —  by  carrying  these  to  the  lungs,  where 


The  Heart 


Taking  the  Blood  flressurt 


VEIN5 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  CIRCULATIOM 


Fl  G.  2O-     The  Heart  and  Circulation  of  the   Blood, 


THE  CIRCULATION  215 

they  are  thrown  out  from  the  body,  just  as  smoke  is  car- 
ried by  the  chimney  up  from  the  furnace. 

As  the  blood  leaves  the  capillaries  and  enters  the  veins, 
it  has  lost  its  bright  red  color,  by  means  of  its  loss  of 
oxygen.  The  smaller  veins  leading  from  the  capillaries 
unite  to  form  larger  veins,  which  join  to  form  the  venae 
cavas,  which  empty  the  blood  into  the  right  side  of  the  heart, 
thus  completing  its  circuit  through  the  body. 

3.  The  portal  circulation.     The  liver  is  the  filter  of  the 
body.    All  the  blood  which  is  gathered  up  from  the  stomach, 
bowels,    pancreas  —  the    organs    of    digestion  —  the    blood 
which  is  liable  to  be  poisoned  or  contaminated   from  bad 
food  or  indigestion,  is  carried  by  means  of  a  ?pecial  set  of 
blood-vessels  uniting  to  form  the  portal  vein,  which  in  turn 
empties  into  the  liver.     This  blood  is  filtered  through  the 
liver,  coming  in  contact  with   its  living  cells,  which  in  a 
very  marvellous  manner  carefully  select  the  poisonous  sub- 
stances of  the  blood  and  either  destroy  or  modify  them,  after 
which  the  blood  is  again  gathered  up,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
capillary  system  of  the  lungs,   and  carried  by  the  hepatic 
vessels  back   into  the  general   circulation. 

4.  The  lymphatic  circulation.    As  the  blood  flows  through 
the  capillaries,  its  liquid  portion  (all  except  the  blood-cells) 
passes   through   the   capillary  walls  —  actually   leaks  out  — 
circulates    about   the    individual    cells   and   tissues,    bathing 
them  with  its  nourishing1  substances.     This  lymph  or  serum 
must  find  its  way  back  into  the  blood-stream  after  it  has 
yielded  up  its  food  substances  to  the  cells  and  has  taken  up 
from  the  cells  their  poisonous  excretions.     The  lymph  chan- 
nels  serve   this   purpose.    They  are   really   spaces   between 
the  tissues  and  cells.    They  grow  larger  and  larger  as  they 
approach  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  empty  the  serum  into 
the  veins,  where  it  is  again  mixed  with,  the  blood  and  car- 
ried to  the  heart.     On  the  way  of  the  lymphatics  to  the 
veins,    are    found    many   peculiar    structures    called   lymph 
glands.    These  are  the  filters  of  the  lymphatic  system,  and 
in  them   poisons  and  disease  germs   are  crippled  and  de- 
stroyed. 


2l6  -    THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

All  the  blood  of  the  body  (or  a  volume  equal  thereto) 
passes  through  the  heart  every  minute.  The  arteries  —  the 
blood-vessels  leading  out  from  the  heart  —  have  been  esti- 
mated to  represent  a  length  of  about  one  thousand  miles. 
The  skin  is  richly  supplied  with  capillaries  containing  about 
ten  thousand  square  feet.  The  heart  does  a  work  every 
twenty-four  hours  equal  to  lifting  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  tons  one  foot  high. 

The  pulse  is  usually  taken  at  the  wrist  by  feeling  the 
radial  artery,  which  pulsates  with  each  heartbeat.  It  is 
about  68  to  70  in  the  adult,  about  64  or  65  when  lying  down, 
and  up  toward  100  while  walking.  The  pulse  rate  is  a  lit- 
tle higher  in  children  and  very  old  people. 

THE   FUNCTION   OF   THE   BLOOD 

The  blood-stream  is  both  the  food-provider  and  the 
scavenger  of  the  body.  The  blood  is  really  a  travelling 
market  or  supply  from  which  every  little  cell  and  tissue  of 
the  body  chooses  the  elements  adapted  to  its  nourishment. 
At  the  same  time,  the  blood  is  constantly  absorbing  poison- 
ous substances  which  find  their  way  into  the  body  with  the 
food,  or  which  are  generated  in  the  body,  either  by  errors 
in  the  digestive  process  or  by  the  normal  activities  of  the 
living  cells.  These  various  substances,  which  are  poisonous 
to  life  if  allowed  to  accumulate  in  the  body,  are  systematic- 
ally gathered  up  by  the  circulating  blood,  and  carried  to 
liver,  lungs,  and  kidneys,  where  they  are  thrown  out  from 
the  body  or,  as  in  the  case  of  the  liver,  converted  into  harm- 
less products. 

The  blood-stream  also  serves  the  purpose  of  conveying  the 
red  blood  corpuscles  —  the  oxygen-carriers  and  smoke-re- 
movers—  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  living  organism. 
It  also  serves  as  a  home  and  circulating  channel  for  the 
white  blood  corpuscles  or  leucocytes,  which  constitute  the 
standing  army  of  the  body  in  its  defence  against  disease, 
and  whose  work  will  be  more  fully  described  in  a  succeed- 
ing chapter. 


THE  CIRCULATION  217 

BLOOD   PURIFIERS 

'There  is  a  deep-seated  notion  in  the  minds  of  most  people, 
that  the  blood  needs  purifying  at  springtime;  and  for  this 
purpose  vast  quantities  of  sarsaparilla  and  patent  medicines 
are  swallowed  by  the  victims  of  sluggish  livers,  despondency, 
constipation,  and  auto-intoxication,  in  the  vain  hope  of  puri- 
fying the  blood  and  thereby  escaping  some  of  the  afflictions 
peculiar  to  the  return  of  the  warm  season. 

No  greater  delusion  was  ever  connected  with  the  subject  of 
health  and  disease  than  that  of  blood  purifiers.  One  can- 
not purify  the  blood  by  putting  some  ill-tasting  or  bad-smell- 
ing drug  into  it.  The  blood  must  be  purified  by  the  in- 
telligent eating  of  pure  food  and  the  liberal  drinking  of 
pure  water,  and  by  the  proper  action  of  skin,  kidneys,  lungs, 
and  liver.  These  are  the  measures  by  which  the  impurities 
found  in  the  blood  are  excreted  and  eliminated  from  the 
body. 

The  blood  must  be  purified  by  getting  rid  of  its  impurities. 
If  the  blood  is  supplied  with  only  pure  food  and  pure 
water;  if  the  process  of  digestion  is  kept  healthy,  and  the 
stomach  and  bowels  are  free  from  rotting  masses  of  food; 
nature  will  quickly  purify  the  blood  by  casting  out  the  solid 
impurities  through  the  kidneys,  by  passing  out  the  liquid 
poisons  through  the  skin  and  bowels,  by  throwing  out  the 
gaseous  poisons  through  the  lungs,  and  finally  by  sifting 
and  modifying  the  residue  by  the  wonderful  filtering  powers 
of  the  liver. 

The  work  of  blood-purifying,  then,  consists  in  following 
out  the  directions  concerning  proper  breathing,  water  drink- 
ing, bathing,  eating,  digestion,  etc.,  fully  discussed  in  pre- 
ceding chapters.  One  of  the  best  possible  means  of  purify- 
ing the  blood  is  to  subsist  upon  a  fruit  diet  for  three  or 
four  days.  Three  or  four  times  a  day  eat  liberally  of  fresh, 
ripe  fruit.  This  is  probably  the  best-known  means  of 
quickly  and  thoroughly  cleansing  the  blood-stream.  Pure, 
unfermented  fruit  juice  is  valuable  for  this  same  purpose, 
and  may  be  used  for  two  or  three  days.  This  is  a  good 


2l8  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

practice  in  springtime  for  those  who  have  foul  breath, 
coated  tongue,  dyspepsia,  biliousness,  constipation,  etc.  The 
old  practice  of  giving  sulphur  at  spring-time  was  not  so 
bad,  as  sulphur  serves  to  clean  out  the  bowels  thoroughly. 

BLOOD-MAKING   FOODS 

The  protein  foods  are  commonly  regarded  as  blood-mak- 
ing foods,  but  all  good  foods  which  are  properly  digested 
and  assimilated  are  blood-forming  foods.  Each  food  ele- 
ment has  its  proper  place.  A  certain  amount  of  iron  must 
be  present  for  the  use  of  the  red  blood  corpuscles.  Digested 
starch  or  sugar  is  required  by  the  white  blood  cells  for  their 
nourishment.  It  is  a  delusion  to  suppose  that  any  particular 
food  peculiarly  nourishes  some  special  organ  of  the  body. 
The  idea  that  fish  is  a  brain  food,  that  celery  is  a  nerve 
food,  etc.,  is  entirely  a  mistaken  one,  except  in  so  far  as 
these  foods  contain  special  chemical  elements  which  may 
be  required  by  some  special  organ  or  tissue  of  the  body,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  bones  of  growing  children,  which  es- 
pecially require  lime  salts,  etc. 

BLOOD-PRESSURE 

As  regards  health  and  disease,  the  most  important  item 
connected  with  the  study  of  the  circulation  is  the  subject  of 
blood-pressure.  We  have  only  recently  come  to  understand 
how  important  this  question  is  in  its  relation  to  health. 

The  one  thing  characteristic  of  the  present  day  social  and 
commercial  world  is  its  high  tension.  Everybody  is  keyed 
up  to  the  last  notch.  People  are  living  at  a  fierce  pace, 
and  the  pressure-gauge  of  life  registers  all  the  while  dan- 
gerously near  the  bursting  point. 

Deaths  from  Bright's  disease,  heart  failure,  apoplexy,  and 
various  other  high-pressure  maladies,  are  enormously  on 
the  increase.  The  following  editorial,  which  sometime  ago 
appeared  in  a  Chicago  daily  paper,  gives  the  high-pressure 
tension  of  modern  business  as  the  reason  for  American 
commercial  success: 


THE  CIRCULATION  2ig 

Why  Americans  succeed 

"  It  is  largely  a  question  of  pressure.  The  nations  of  Europe, 
and  especially  the  English,  wonder  at  the  success  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  If  any  Englishman  wants  to  know  why  the  Ameri- 
can race  can  beat  the  English  race  in  the  struggle  for  industrial 
precedence,  let  him  stand  on  one  of  the  down-town  platforms 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  in  Chicago  from  seven  until 
nine  in  the  morning  as  the  suburban  trains  come  in. 

"  Far  outside  of  the  station  the  train  appears,  puffing  and 
panting,  and  while  it  is  still  going  at  dangerous  speed,  men, 
young  and  old,  are  seen  leaning  far  out  from  every  platform. 

"  As  the  train  rushes  in,  the  men  leap  from  the  cars  and  a  wild 
rush  follows  for  the  business  district.  Not  a  man  is  walking 
slowly  and  deliberately.  It  is  one  rush  to  business;  it  is  one 
rush  all  day;  it  is  one  rush  home  again. 

"  The  gauge  on  the  engine  tells  the  pressure  of  steam  and  the 
work  that  the  engine  can  do.  The  gauge  on  the  American  hu- 
man being  stands  at  high  pressure  all  the  time.  His  brain  is 
constantly  excited ;  his  machinery  is  working  with  a  full  head  of 
steam. 

"  Tissues  are  burned  up  rapidly,  and  the  machine  often  burns 
up  sooner  than  it  should.  The  man  bald  and  gray  in  his  youth, 
the  man  a  victim  of  dyspepsia,  of  nervousness,  of  narcotics  and 
stimulants,  is  a  distinct  American  institution.  He  is  an  engine 
burned  out  before  his  time;  but  his  work  has  been  done,  and  that 
great  locomotive-works,  the  American  mother,  is  forever  supply- 
ing the  demand  for  new  engines  to  be  run  at  dangerously  high 
speed. 

"  The  American  succeeds  because  he  is  under  high  pressure 
always ;  because  he  is  determined  to  make  speed,  even  at  the  risk 
of  bursting  the  boiler  and  wrecking  the  machine." 

This  high  pressure  may  yield  commercial  success,  it  may 
assist  in  the  conquest  of  dollars ;  but  it  is  frightfully  ruinous 
to  the  mind  and  health  of  the  American  people. 

THE    HIGH-PRESSURE   LIFE 

What  do  we  mean  by  the  high-pressure  life?  We  refer 
to  those  habits  and  practices  which  raise  the  blood-pressure 
within  the  arteries  above  normal.  There  have  been  in- 
vented a  number  of  instruments  which  have  attachments 


220  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

that  can  be  strapped  around  the  arm,  so  that  by  means  of 
pumping  air  into  little  rubber  bags  underneath,  pressure  can 
be  applied  to  the  blood-vessels.  By  means  of  a  rubber  tube, 
this  air-pressure  is  communicated  to  a  glass  tube  containing 
mercury,  arranged  somewhat  after  the  plan  of  a  barometer. 
(Fig.  20.)  The  pressure  is  now  gradually  removed  until 
the  pulse  can  just  be  felt,  and  then,  on  the  graduated  glass 
is  read  off  how  many  millimetres  of  mercury  ..re  equivalent 
to  the  blood-pressure.  An  ordinary  healthy  person  has  a 
blood-pressure  of  between  one  hundred  and  ten  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  millimetres  of  mercury.  This  is  about 
normal;  and  under  healthy  conditions  blood  circulating  at 
this  pressure  is  able  to  find  its  way  into  all  parts  of  the  body 
and  properly  nourish  every  cell. 

Following  the  high-pressure  career  there  may  come  sec- 
ondary low  pressure,  with  its  consequences  of  debility  and 
depression,  and  its  temptation  to  resort  to  the  use  of  tonics 
and  drugs  that  will  tend  to  raise  the  pressure. 

There  are  certain  substances  which,  when  taken  into  the 
body,  together  with  certain  mental  states,  have  power  to 
influence  the  blood-pressure,  some  lowering  it,  while  others 
cause  it  to  rise.  Now,  when  the  blood-pressure  is  raised, 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  more  blood  will  circulate  through 
the  brain  as  well  as  through  other  parts  of  the  body;  and 
therefore  when  the  blood-pressure  is  moderately  high,  since 
the  blood  is  that  which  nourishes  the  body  and  gives  it  life, 
it  will  not  be  hard  to  imagine  that  such  a  person  will  feel 
exhilarated  and  buoyant  —  able  to  enter  the  arena  of  society 
and  business  more  confident  of  success,  with  hopes  and 
courage  all  at  top-notch. 

And,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  further  consideration  of  this 
subject,  the  American  people  are  rapidly  falling  into  those 
habits  and  practices  which  directly  or  indirectly  produce 
high  blood-pressure.  And  further,  when  they  accidentally 
or  finally  fall  under  the  influences  or  causes  of  low  pressure, 
there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  resort  to  artificial  means  of 
producing  high  blood-pressure. 


THE  CIRCULATION  221 

RESULTS   OF   HIGH    BLOOD-PRESSURE 

The  evil  results  of  this  high  pressure  will  be  considered 
before  we  take  up  the  causes.  They  may  be  enumerated  as 
follows : 

1.  Arterio-sclerosis.    High  blood-pressure  is  the  one  great 
recognized    cause    of    arterio-sclerosis  —  degeneration    and 
hardening  of  the  arteries;  and  arterio-sclerosis  is  the  real 
cause  of  old  age,  or  senile  degeneration. 

2.  Apoplexy.     Since  high  blood-pressure  is  the  great  cause 
of  hardening  of  the  arteries,  it  then  becomes  apparent  that 
it  is  the  indirect  cause  of  apoplexy,  for  this  is  merely  a  rup- 
ture of  the  small  arteries  in  the  brain,  which  are  unable 
to  stand  the  enormous  pressure  required  in  order  to  force 
the  blood  through  the  stiff  and  shrunken  vessels. 

3.  Bright's   disease.    This   is    a    condition    in   which   the 
arteries  of  the  kidney  are  shrivelling  up  as  the  result  of 
poisons  and  high  blood-pressure.     This  disease,  with  its  at- 
tendant evils  of  dropsy  and  heart  failure,  is  also  largely  at- 
tributable to  high-pressure  influences. 

4.  Heart  failure.    It  must  be  apparent  that  if  the  blood- 
pressure  is  to  be  constantly  increased  in  order  to  nourish 
the  body  and  overcome  the  growing  resistance  of  the  hard- 
ening arteries,  the  heart  —  the  great  blood  pump  —  will  be 
called  upon  to  exert  increased  force;  and  this  it  does,  by 
hypertrophy,  until  by  and  by  the  walls  are  over-stretched, 
the  heart  becomes  permanently  dilated,  and  when  the  end 
comes,  it  is  called  heart  failure.     Six  times  more  people  die 
in  New  York  from  heart  failure  than  from  typhoid  fever. 

5.  Certain  mental  diseases  are  also  indirectly  produced  or 
influenced  by  high  or  low  blood-pressure,  such  as  mania, 
melancholy,  etc.,  as  well  as  ordinary  nervousness,  sleepless- 
ness, and  many  common,  everyday  maladies. 

It  becomes  a  matter  of  interest,  then,  to  find  out  what  are 
the  special  causes,  direct  or  indirect,  of  the  high-pressure 
vice. 


222  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

HABITS  AND   PRACTICES   CAUSING   HIGH   BLOOD- 
PRESSURE 

There  are  numerous  drugs  (strychnine,  digitalis,  etc.) 
which  increase  the  blood-pressure,  and  which  are  used  by 
doctors  in  heart  disease  and  other  conditions;  but  we  will 
here  consider  only  those  commonly  used  by  the  public,  and 
which  are  usually  taken  for  their  direct  effect  of  increasing 
the  blood-pressure. 

1.  Cocaine.    The  use  of  cocaine  constitutes  the  shortest 
known  route  to  the  insane  asylum.     It  is  a  powerful  raiser 
of  blood-pressure ;   and  this  is  why  people  who  have  used 
morphine  for  a  while   (which  drug  lowers  the  blood-pres- 
sure), are  unconsciously  led  into  the  use  of  cocaine  for  the 
purpose  of   restoring  the  blood-pressure. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  one  ordinarily  feels  lan- 
guid, depressed,  and  good  for  nothing,  when  the  blood-pres- 
sure is  too  low;  whereas  one  usually  feels  exhilarated  and 
tiptop  when  the  pressure  is  high.  Therefore,  there  is  a 
constant  tendency  to  make  use  of  those  things  which  in- 
crease the  blood-pressure,  or  in  cases  of  suffering  from  low 
pressure,  to  resort  to  the  use  of  high-pressure  producers  to 
counteract  the  unpleasant  low-pressure  effects.  The  use  of 
cocaine  in  the  United  States  has  more  than  trebled  since 
1896. 

2.  Tobacco.    Tobacco  stands  foremost  among  the  common 
causes  of  increased  blood-pressure.     It  is  well  known  that 
when  a  young  man  takes  his  first  smoke,  he  is  pale  in  the 
face;  the  small  blood-vessels  of  the  skin  are  strongly  con- 
tracted; the  blood  is  forced  upon  the  internal  organs.     The 
blood-pressure,    if   taken   at   such   a   time,    is    found   to    be 
enormously    raised;    and    so   throughout    life    the   effect   of 
tobacco-using,  due  to  the  specific  action  of  the  nicotine  and 
other  poisons,  is  that  of  directly  raising  the  blood-pressure. 
(A  single  cigar  raises  blood-pressure  for  over  one  hour.) 
The  use  of  tobacco,  then,  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 


THE  CIRCULATION  223 

prominent  causes  of  increased  blood-pressure  in  the  present 
generation,  and  of  many  of  the  serious  dangers  and  conse- 
quences following;  namely,  deranged  nervous  system,  hard- 
ened arteries,  kidney  trouble,  heart  failure,  and  apoplexy. 

The  enormous  increase  in  the  use  of  tobacco  is  astound- 
ing. Last  year  the  American  youth  consumed  enough  ciga- 
rettes, if  placed  end  to  end,  to  go  round  the  world  twice, 
and  then  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  and  back  again. 
In  other  words,  they  smoked  3,210,353,015  manufactured 
cigarettes  in  one  year,  to  say  nothing  about  the  untold  thou- 
sands that  were  made  by  the  boys  themselves  from  tobacco 
and  paper. 

It  is  safe  to  estimate  that  there  were  smoked  of  cigarettes, 
to  say  nothing  of  cigars,  an  average  of  five  hundred  for 
every  young  man  in  the  United  States  between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  twenty.  In  addition  to  this,  there  were  smoked 
last  year  in  the  United  States,  6,707,471,863  cigars,  to  say 
nothing  about  the  enormous  quantities  of  smoking  tobacco 
and  chewing  tobacco  used  by  the  same  people.  These  cigars, 
laid  end  to  end,  would  reach  considerably  over  half-way  to 
the  moon.  There  were  used  last  year  in  the  United  States, 
twenty  million  pounds  of  snuff,  although  this  habit  is  sup- 
posed to  be  obsolete. 

American  men  and  boys,  therefore,  last  year  smoked  at 
least  ten  thousand  million  cigars  and  cigarettes.  These,  if 
laid  end  to  end,  would  reach  almost  from  our  earth  to  the 
moon  (240,000  miles). 

The  American  people  spend  as  much  money  every  year 
for  tobacco  as  for  bread.  This  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
enormous  consumption  of  this  poisonous  weed,  and  throws 
much  light  on  the  cause  of  the  modern  strenuous  life. 

There  is  a  single  tobacco  company  that  has  a  capacity  for 
making  seven  million  cigarettes  a  day. 

3.  Tea  and  coffee.  The  caffeine  of  coffee  and  the  theine 
of  tea  are  narcotic  poisons  which  exert  a  direct  influence  in 
elevating  the  blood-pressure  when  taken  into  the  system. 
They  are  very  properly  discussed  under  the  head  of  "  Drug 


224  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Causes  of  High  Blood-Pressure,"  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  they  are  so  commonly  used  as  beverages  in  connection 
with  meals. 

There  is  used  in  the  United  States  a  hundred  million 
pounds  of  tea  and  coffee  a  year.  This  is  over  ten  pounds 
of  tea  and  coffee  a  year  for  every  man,  woman  and  child  in 
the  country.  Tea  and  coffee  are  freely  used  even  by  young 
children  with  tender  nervous  systems.  We  have  the  "  tea- 
drinker's  disorder,"  which  is  a  disease  recognized  by  the 
medical  profession;  and  tea-topers  are  found  among  both 
men  and  women.  This  tea  and  coffee  drinking  is  none 
the  less  a  case  of  drug-addiction,  even  though  it  be  taken 
at  meal  time,  and  notwithstanding  that  its  use  has  become 
well-nigh  universal. 

4.  Condiments.    It  has  been  shown  that  the  free  use  of 
all  the  condiments  which  are  commonly  used  by  Americans, 
with  the  exception  of  common  table  salt,  nutmeg,  and  cin- 
namon, have  power  to  raise  the  blood-pressure,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  their  deleterious  effects  upon  the  digestive   system. 
Those    condiments    which    increase   the    blood-pressure    are 
mustard,    pepper,    vinegar,    cayenne,    horseradish,    and    the 
other  pungent  seasoning  substances. 

5.  Flesh  foods.    The  American  people,  in  common  with 
their  English  cousins,  consume  enormous  quantities  of  the 
flesh  of  animals  for  food.    All  forms  of  flesh  food  contain 
certain  irritating  substances,  such  as  uric  acid  which  was 
circulating  through  the  flesh  of  the  animal  at  the  instant  of 
death,  and  which  is  swallowed  along  with  the  meat,  and  has 
power  to  raise  the  blood-pressure  considerably,  by  its.  irritat- 
ing effect  upon  the  tender  linings  of  the  blood-vessels  and 
its  influence  upon  the  nervous  system. 

That  meat-eating  directly  raises  blood-pressure  has  been 
shown  by  numerous  and  repeated  observations.     This,  then, 
is    another    explanation    of    the    high-pressure    life    of    the 
American  people. 

6.  Auto-intoxication.    When  an  excess  of  food  is  taken 
into    the    digestive    tract,    the    machinery    of    digestion    is 


THE  CIRCULATION  22$ 

clogged;  fermentation  and  putrefaction  are  favored,  es- 
pecially if  this  excess  is  largely  protein;  and  as  a  result, 
there  are  generated  poisons  which  raise  the  blood-pressure. 

Auto-intoxication  means  self-poisoning,  and  refers  to 
special  poisons  which  may  be  produced  in  the  body,  due  to 
derangement  of  digestion  and  metabolism,  as  in  intestinal 
putrefaction.  The  colon  of  man  is  inhabited  by  untold 
billions  of  germs  (colon  bacilli)  and  these  secrete  a  toxin 
or  poison,  which  has  a  tendency  to  harden  the  blood-ves- 
sels and  indirectly  to  raise  blood-pressure.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  toxins  of  the  various  disease  germs. 

Constipation  indirectly  favors  a  rise  in  blood-pressure  by 
allowing  large  quantities  of  matter  to  accumulate  in  the 
bowel,  thus  favoring  putrefaction  and  the  retention  of  the 
poisons  commonly  originating  in  this  part  of  the  digestive 
tract. 

7.  Exposure  and  arterio-sclerosis.    By  long-continued  ex- 
posure of  the  skin,  the  blood  is  driven  from  the  cutaneous 
vessels   (as  evidenced  by  the  pallor  and  goose-flesh  appear- 
ance).    This  forcing  of  the  blood  upon  the  internal  organs 
greatly  raises  the  blood-pressure. 

By  the  hardening  of  the  arteries,  as  well  as  by  their 
stiffening,  the  blood  current  is  impeded  and  the  arterial 
pressure  is  necessarily  greatly  raised  in  order  to  maintain 
the  circulation.  (Arterio-sclerosis  is  more  commonly  a  re^ 
suit  of  high  blood-pressure  than  a  cause.) 

8.  Worry  and  anxiety.    Either  of  these  mental  states  has 
been  found  to  result  in  materially  raising  the  blood-pressure. 
Worry  is  a  foe  to  health.    Anxiety  is  a  mental  poison  that 
in  many  respects  exerts  the  same  deleterious  effect  on  the 
body    as    literal    poisons    introduced    from    without.    Those 
who  would  avoid  high  blood-pressure  must  avoid  worry  and 
anxious  care. 

Disappointment    and    grief.     Cankering    care,    corroding 
grief,  and  bitter  disappointment,  all  act  their  part  in  produc- 
ing that  condition  of  the  nervous  system  which  results  in 
raising  the  blood-pressure. 
15 


226  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Anger.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  victims  of  high 
blood-pressure  often  burst  a  blood-vessel  during  a  fit  of 
anger.  Numbers  of  people  have  met  their  death  in  this 
way.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  anger  and  other  intense 
emotions  have  power,  through  the  nervous  system,  quickly 
to  raise  the  blood-pressure. 

9.  The    strenuous    life.    Excitement    directly    raises    the 
blood-pressure,  and  is   probably  one  of  the  most  common 
causes   of    high    blood-pressure,    outside   of   dietetic   habits. 
Modern  society  exists  in  a  state  of  more  or  less  constant 
excitement.     Every    form    of    modern    amusement    is    con- 
structed with  a  view  to  thrilling,  startling,  and  exciting  the 
spectator ;  and  all  this  reacts  upon  the  nervous  system  in 
disturbing   the    blood-pressure.     The    inordinate    craving   to 
be  hurled  through   space   at  increasingly  perilous   speed  is 
likewise  both  a  cause  and  a  result  of  the  modern  high-pres- 
sure regime. 

Gambling  and  other  games  of  chance.  These  various  en- 
gagements of  chance  all  interfere  with  the  blood-pressure 
by  means  of  their  worry,  anxiety,  excitement,  and  some- 
times the  crushing  disappointment  and  bitter  remorse  that 
must  inevitably  follow  in  the  defeat  that  comes  to  all  who 
risk  their  substance  on  the  wheel  of  fortune. 

The  strenuous  life  is  that  combination  of  modern  methods 
of  living  which  is  the  typical  regime  of  modern  money- 
makers. A  strenuous  life  raises  the  blood-pressure;  and, 
in  contrast,  the  simple  life  lowers  the  blood-pressure. 

10.  Moral    causes   of   high   pressure.     An    accusing   con- 
science—  moral    condemnation.     This    condition,    in    which 
one    has    lost   peace   of   mind,    indirectly   contributes    to   a 
rise  in  blood-pressure.     The  one  who  is  not  at  peace  with 
God    and    man    cannot    maintain    that    state    of    mind    and 
thought  requisite  to  normal  blood-pressure.     Condemnation 
of   conscience  brings   in   its  wake   all   those   high-pressure- 
breeding  influences  of  worry,  anxiety,  sorrow,  remorse,  etc. 
Moral   doubts   and   mental    dissatisfaction   are    fatal   to   all 
those  mental  and  mortal  states  which  favor  normal  blood- 
pressure. 


THE  CIRCULATION  227 


The  reader  has  no  doubt  begun  to  ask  if  there  are  no 
natural  and  harmless  agencies  which  can  be  used  for  the 
lowering  of  blood-pressure.  Yes;  fortunately  for  this  gen- 
eration, there  are  certain  simple  and  natural  procedures 
which  are  exceedingly  powerful  and  useful  in  lowering  high 
blood-pressure,  and  which  do  not  subsequently  demand 
something  to  antidote  their  undesirable  and  depressing  ef- 
fects. 

1.  Exercise.    Active   physical    exercise,    to   the   point   of 
gentle  perspiration,  brings  a  large  amount  of  blood  to  the 
muscles.     It   dilates   the   vessels   of   the   skin,   producing   a 
ruddy  glow,  the  same  as  alcohol,  only  this  dilation  is  even 
more  permanent  and  is  not  followed  by  an  undesirable  re- 
action.    Walking,  riding,  rowing,  running,  swimming,  gym- 
nasium work,  and  all   forms  of  exercise,  preferably  those 
in  the  open  air,  with  the  clothing  loose  and  free,  are  all 
most  powerful  agents  in  lowering  blood-pressure,  and  should 
be  intelligently  and  systematically  utilized  by  all  moderately 
high-pressure  victims.     Passive  exercise  always  lowers  the 
blood-pressure  from  the  very  beginning. 

2.  Massage  and  friction.    In  the  case  of  feeble  patients 
—  bedridden  patients  who  cannot  stand  vigorous  exercise, 
and    those    who    have    weak    hearts    or    hardened    arteries 
(which  conditions  make  it  unsafe  for  them  to  take  the  more 
vigorous   exercise   and   baths) — massage   and   friction   are 
useful.  » 

The  cold  mitten  friction,  in  which  a  rough  mohair  mit  or 
Turkish  cloth  is  dipped  in  ice  water  and  rubbed  over  one 
part  of  the  body  at  a  time,  is  excellent  for  these  cases. 
Dry  friction  is  also  useful.  (Fig.  21.) 

Deep  muscle  massage.  Deep  massage  of  the  muscles 
enormously  increases  the  amount  of  blood  circulating 
through  them,  and  in  this  way  relieves  the  general  arterial 
tension. 

3.  The  neutral  bath.    This  bath  lowers  pressure  by  dilat- 


228  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ing  the  vessels  of  the  skin  and  quieting  the  heart.  Try  it 
some  time  when  you  are  restless,  nervous,  fretful,  can't 
sleep,  head  throbbing  —  take  a  neutral  bath,  from  95°  to 
97°  F. 

4.  The  cold  bath.    The  cold  bath,  likewise,  by  the  vigor- 
ous   reaction    that    follows    it,    lowers    the    blood-pressure. 
Warm  baths  must  be  continued  for  a  number  of  minutes  in 
order  to  lower  the  blood-pressure,  and  the  neutral  bath  from 
fifteen  to  forty-five  minutes,  but  cold  baths  must  be  short, 
in   order  to   lower   the   blood-pressure.    The   salt  bath  or 
salt  glow  is  doubly  useful. 

5.  Dry  or  moist  heat.    The  sun  bath  is  of  great  value 
in    relieving   high    pressure,    if   properly   taken,    as   it   not 
only   diverts    blood   to   the   skin,    but   the   "sunburn"    is   a 
sort  of  physiological  inflammation  that  causes  the  blood  to 
circulate  freely  in  the  skin  for  days  following  exposure  to  the 
sun's  rays.     Keeping  the  skin  warm  helps  in  lowering  blood- 
pressure.     (Fig.  21.) 

Fomentations.  These  hot  applications  greatly  dilate  the 
blood-vessels  of  the  skin,  and  so  directly  relieve  the  blood 
tension. 

The  heating  compress  has  a  desirable  effect  in  lowering 
blood-pressure,  and  consists  of  several  thicknesses  of  cheese- 
cloth wrung  out  of  cold  water.  Apply  to  the  skin  and  cover 
with  oilcloth,  rubber  sheeting,  or  mackintosh,  and  then 
wrap  dry  flannels  around  the  whole  so  securely  that  no 
evaporation  can  take  place.  This  procedure  is  of  great 
value  in  the  local  treatment  of  high  blood-pressure,  as  in 
the  case  of  inflammation,  etc. 

6.  Sleep  and  rest,  by  their  every  influence,  directly  and 
indirectly,  tend  to  lower  the  blood-pressure.    It  is  very  ap- 
parent that  a  kind  Providence  has  provided  the  suffering 
race  with  many  useful  and  inexpensive  means  for  lowering 
the  blood-pressure.    Why  should  we  resort  to  the  unnatural 
agencies    of    harmful,    habit-producing   drugs    in    order    to 
relieve  the  high-pressure  tension  and  the  nervous  restless- 
ness of  the  age?    Let  us  reform  the  diet,  set  the  mind  at 


Givind  Cola  Mitten  Friction 


Fl  G.  2 1 .-  Cold  Mitten  Friction  and  the  Sun  Bath. 


THE  CIRCULATION  229 

rest,  eliminate  all  high-pressure  causes,  get  the  sweet  peace 
that  comes  from  religious  consolation;  and  then,  in  times 
of  temporary  high  pressure  and  unpleasant  tension,  resort 
to  the  simple  baths,  exercise,  sun  baths,  massage,  etc.,  for 
relief. 

7.  Dietetic    simplicity.    Discard    spices    and    condiments. 
In  the  battle  against  high  pressure,  it  is  necessary  that  all 
irritating  condiments  and  spices  should  be  cast  out  of  the 
dietary.     Vinegar  has  been  found  to  be  more  powerful  in 
producing  hardening  of  the  arteries  in  the  liver  than  al- 
cohol. 

Vegetables,  grains,  fruits,  and  nuts,  do  not  contain  sub- 
stances which  excite  high  pressure  unless  such  foods  as 
nuts  and  legumes  are  taken  in  too  large  quantities.  The 
less  meat  eaten  the  better  for  the  blood-pressure. 

Good,  normal  digestion,  in  which  food  is  not  allowed  to 
remain  too  long  in  any  one  part  of  the  digestive  tract,  con- 
tributes to  keeping  the  blood-pressure  normal  by  preventing 
the  generation  of  high-pressure  toxins  as  the  result  of  indi- 
gestion. 

Regular  bowel  movement  prevents  the  absorption  of  in- 
testinal toxins,  which  have  a  tendency  to  raise  blood-pres- 
sure. 

8.  Mental  factors  in  lowering  pressure.    Cheerfulness  and 
contentment.     We  need  not  repeat  here  what  is  stated  in 
another  chapter  concerning  the  health-promoting  possibili- 
ties of  happiness.     Mental  cheerfulness  is  essential  to  good 
digestion.     It  promotes  the  circulation  of  the  blood  by  its 
influence  over  the  vaso-motor  nerves,  and  thus  indirectly 
influences  the  blood-pressure.     Mental  peace  is  a  powerful 
anti-high-pressure  influence. 

Self-control  has  been  defined  as  temperance,  and  tem- 
perance is  the  keynote  of  success  in  controlling  blood-pres- 
sure. Regular  and  even  habits  of  life  favor  normal 
pressure. 

9.  Moral  influences  which  lower  pressure.    "  A  conscience 
void  of  offence  toward  God  and  men,"  by  its  beneficent  in- 


230  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

fluence  upon  the  mind  —  effectually  eliminating  all  grounds 
for  worry,  remorse,  and  anxiety  —  tends  to  promote  and 
maintain  a  normal  blood-pressure. 

Moral  faith  and  spiritual  trust  are  the  climax  of  power 
in  the  battle  against  the  high-pressure  life.  Faith  and  trust 
are  the  guardian  angels  of  the  simple  life;  they  are  the 
ancestors  of  every  mental  trait  of  happiness  and  self-control, 
all  of  which  are  powerful  in  preventing  increased  blood- 
pressure. 

FALSE  AND  HARMFUL   METHODS  OF  LOWERING  BLOOD- 
PRESSURE 

Having  carefully  considered  the  causes  of  high  blood- 
pressure,  together  with  natural  and  proper  methods  of  con- 
trolling and  lowering  pressure,  we  will  now  briefly  dis- 
cuss those  false  and  dangerous  practices  and  habits  which 
tend  to  lower  the  pressure.  These  methods  are  transitory, 
deceptive,  and  exceedingly  destructive;  they  represent  the 
false  hope  of  obtaining  relief  from  the  tension  of  the  high- 
pressure  life. 

While  there  are  many  drugs  used  temporarily  by  physi- 
cians for  their  influence  in  lowering  blood-pressure,  we  will 
consider  here  only  those  which  are  administered  by  thou- 
sands of  people  to  themselves. 

i.  Morphine.  Morphine  lowers  the  blood-pressure;  so, 
when  the  individual  has  used  tobacco  or  cocaine,  which  re- 
sults in  unduly  raising  the  pressure,  it  is  only  natural  that 
he  should  seek  relief  from  this  tension  by  the  use  of  either 
alcohol  or  morphine.  This  is  why  alcohol  and  tobacco 
go  hand  in  hand,  tobacco  producing  high  pressure,  alcohol 
relieving  the  tension  by  producing  a  low  pressure;  but  a 
low  pressure  cannot  be  long  tolerated  —  the  individual  must 
have  something  to  tone  him  up,  to  restore  the  pressure,  and 
this  is  secured  by  more  tobacco.  Likewise,  morphine  and 
cocaine  play  into  each  other's  hands  —  the  one  temporarily 
counteracting  the  effects  of  the  other,  until  the  unfortunate 
victim  is  a  user  of  both.  All  methods  of  relieving  high 
pressure  by  drugs  are  snares  and  delusions. 


THE  CIRCULATION  231 

2.  Alcohol.  Alcohol  lowers  the  blood-pressure.  Just  as 
tobacco  produces  a  pale  skin  and  drives  the  blood  inside, 
thus  raising  the  pressure,  alcohol  produces  a  red  flush  of 
the  skin,  showing  that  the  blood  is  being  drawn  to  the 
surface  and  the  blood-pressure  lowered.  This  is  why  one 
feels  warm  under  the  influence  of  alcohol,  even  when  he 
is  colder,  or  even  freezing. 

Now  we  begin  to  understand  the  vicious  circle  that  a 
vicious  enemy  has  perpetrated  on  the  human  race.  A 
large  part  of  the  people  use  tobacco.  They  are  all  living 
the  strenuous  life.  Their  dietetic  and  general  living  habits 
are  those  belonging  to  the  strenuous  order.  They  use  large 
quantities  of  condiments,  tea,  and  coffee.  But  this  cannot 
be  kept  up  indefinitely.  Several  times  a  day,  a  week,  or  a 
month,  the  individual  reaches  the  "  bursting  stage."  He 
feels  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch;  keyed  up  to  the  last 
notch.  He  is  intensified  to  the  highest  degree.  He  must 
in  some  way  find  a  safety  valve. 

There  must  be  some  way  to  relieve  this  constantly  increas- 
ing pressure,  and  the  patient  finds  temporary  relief  by  tak- 
ing alcohol,  which  not  only  dilates  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
skin,  relieving  the  blood-pressure,  but  also  benumbs  the 
higher  sensibilities  so  that  they  are  not  susceptible  to  the 
fears,  worries,  anxieties,  griefs,  and  disappointments  that 
were  previously  harassing  the  mind.  In  this  way,  alcohol 
affords  a  welcome  temporary  relief  to  the  distracted  nerves 
of  the  restless  victims  of  the  high-pressure  life. 

And  this  is  certainly  one  explanation  of  the  enormous 
increase  in  the  consumption  of  alcohol  by  modern  civilized 
races.  But  this  method  of  relieving  high  tension  is  wholly 
false,  for  one  of  the  after  effects  of  alcohol  is  the  harden- 
ing of  the  arteries;  so  that  in  the  end  alcohol  only  serves 
to  raise  the  pressure  and  make  matters  worse. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  authorities  on  insanity  has 
said  that  alcohol  is  the  cause  of  50  per  cent  of  our  insanity; 
and  insanity  is  increasing  300  per  cent  faster  than  the 
population,  threatening  the  mental  extinction  of  the  race 
in  less  than  four  hundred  years. 


232  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

This  is  why  New  York  must  have  ten  thousand  saloons 
—  one  for  every  three  hundred  and  eighty  people,  while  it 
has  only  one  church  for  every  four  thousand.  This  is  why 
we  spend  almost  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  alcohol 
for  every  family  of  five. 

It  is  to  obtain  relief  from  the  high-pressure  tension  that 
is  produced  by  our  modern  civilization  and  erroneous  die- 
tetic habits,  that  the  American  people  spend  every  eight 
months,  for  alcohol,  enough  to  pay  the  entire  national  debt. 

3.  The  bromides.  Hand  in  hand  with  the  enormous  con- 
sumption of  tea  and  coffee,  there  is  found  the  steadily  in- 
creasing use  of  the  various  quieting  preparations  and 
combinations  of  the  bromides. 

Tea  and  coffee  raise  the  blood-pressure  —  the  bromides 
and  their  compounds,  as  a  general  rule,  by  their  sedative 
action,  lower  the  blood-pressure;  and  so,  just  as  alcohol  and 
tobacco  play  their  victims  into  each  other's  hands,  the 
heavy  and  habitual  users  of  tea  and  coffee  find  deceptive  re- 
lief in  the  use  of  bromides. 

NATURAL   PROCEDURES   WHICH   RAISE   PRESSURE 

After  years  of  the  high-pressure  life,  it  often  develops 
that  the  heart  succumbs.  The  blood  pump  fails  in  its  long 
struggle  to  force  the  nourishing  blood  to  the  tissues  through 
the  contracted  blood-vessels.  When  the  heart  gives  out  in 
the  high-pressure  battle,  then  we  get  what  is  termed  "sec- 
ondary low  pressure." 

Now  it  must  be  apparent  that  in  such  cases  as  these  we 
must  resort  to  the  judicious  use  of  agents  which  have  a 
tendency  to  strengthen  the  heart  and  otherwise  raise  the 
blood-pressure.  Fortunately,  we  have  in  Nature's  store- 
house many  agencies  which  may  be  effectually  employed  to 
combat  low  blood-pressure,  without  having  to  resort  to  the 
use  of  dangerous  drugs. 

1.  Active  exercise  (before  the  appearance  of  perspiration) 
directly  raises  the  blood-pressure. 

2.  Abdominal  massage.     Deep  massage  of  the  abdomen, 


THE  CIRCULATION  233 

rolling  a  small  cannon  ball  over  the  abdomen  when  lying 
down,  or  a  bandage  applied  to  the  abdomen,  each  one  tends 
to  raise  pressure. 

3.  Ice  bag  to  the  heart   (fifteen  minutes  at  a  time)   by 
stimulating  and  invigorating  that  organ,  raises  the  blood- 
pressure. 

4.  Cold  baths  (moderately  long),  by  contracting  the  blood- 
vessels of  the  skin,  drive  the  blood  to  the  internal  organs, 
and  thus  raise  the  blood-pressure. 

5.  Water-drinking   and   enemas.     Copious    water-drinking 
temporarily  elevates  pressure  by  adding  to  the  blood  volume 
for  the  time  being.    Large  enemas  act  in  the  same  way. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE 

HEALTH  is  CONTAGIOUS. —  GERM-PROOF  SKIN. —  GERMICIDAL  BODY 
FLUIDS. —  ELIMINATION  OF  GERMS  AND  THEIR  POISONS. —  CRIP- 
PLING OR  DISABLING  THE  GERMS. —  DILUTING  THE  TOXINS. —  IN- 
CAPSULATING  THE  GERMS. —  NEUTRALIZING,  MODIFYING,  AND 
DESTROYING  TOXINS. —  DESTROYING  THE  GERMS. —  WHAT  IS  IM- 
MUNITY?—  HOW  TO  INCREASE  VITAL  RESISTANCE. 

THE  human  body  is  the  scene  of  a  constant  struggle 
between  the  physical  life  forces  and  ten  thousand 
agents  of  disease  and  destruction  which  constantly  sur- 
round the  body  and  jeopardize  the  physical  life.  The  body 
overcomes  many  of  these  untold  agencies  of  disease  and 
death  by  means  of  its  vital  resistance. 

The  normal,  healthy  man  is  mightier  than  the  microbe, 
but  through  physical  transgression,  and  consequent  degen- 
eration, we  have  come  to  the  place  where  the  germ  is  some- 
times greater  than  the  man,  and  disease  is  the  result  of 
the  body's  defeat  at  the  hands  of  these  microscopic  de- 
stroyers. 

HEALTH   IS    CONTAGIOUS 

Germs  are  not  attracted  to  healthy  people.  It  is  only 
when  a  man  is  weak  and  sick  that  he  offers  inducements  for 
microbes  to  prey  upon  him.  Disease  is  contagious  to  a 
weakened  organism  only.  A  prominent  infidel  once  said 
that  if  he  had  made  this  world,  he  would  have  made  health 
catching  and  not  disease.  That  is  just  what  God  did. 
Health  abounds  in  the  very  air  we>  breathe  and  in  the 
movement  of  every  muscle  and  fibre  of  the  physical  man, 
while  disease  is  acquired  only  by  persistent  transgression, 
—  by  constantly  lowering  the  vital  resistance. 

234 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  235 

Germ-proof  skin.  The  body  is  surrounded  by  a  germ- 
proof  covering — the  skin.  When  the  skin  is  healthy,  dis- 
ease germs  are  unable  to  pass  through  it.  Likewise,  the 
eighty  square  feet  of  mucous  membrane  lining  the  digestive 
tract  is  also  germ-proof  when  normal  and  healthy.  So  it 
appears  that  from  within  and  without,  Nature  has  erected  an 
efficient  barricade  against  the  entry  of  disease  germs. 

Germicidal  body  fluids.  Likewise,  all  the  fluids  and  secre- 
tions of  the  body  are  more  or  less  germicidal.  The  saliva, 
being  alkaline,  discourages  the  growth  of  germs  requiring  an 
acid  medium.  It  also  contains  certain  salts  which  kill  germs. 
The  normal  gastric  juice  of  a  healthy  stomach  is  a  sure 
germ-killer.  In  the  early  part  of  digestion,  lactic  acid  is 
present,  and  there  soon  appears  the  powerful  hydrochloric 
acid,  which  is  a  most  efficient  germicide. 

The  bile  and  intestinal  juices  destroy  many  germs.  The 
colon  bacillus  and  some  others,  will  grow  in  the  presence  of 
these  alkaline  fluids,  and  are  constantly  found  in  the  intesti- 
nal tract.  The  presence  of  acids  or  oxygen  prevents  their 
growth. 

The  living,  healthy  tissues  of  the  body  are  all  more  or  less 
germicidal ;  that  is,  they  are  endowed  with  certain  protective 
properties  against  germs  and  disease.  This  is  true  of  many 
of  the  other  special  secretions,  like  those  found  in  the  eye 
and  elsewhere  in  the  body,  when  they  are  normal.  The  so- 
called  ductless  glands  such  as  the  thyroid,  the  suprarenal 
gland,  etc.,  all  secrete  protective  fluids  which  assist  the  body 
in  its  battle  against  disease. 

The  blood  and  lymph,  the  two  great  circulating  fluids  of  the 
body,  are  powerfully  germicidal.  In  normal  conditions  of 
health,  and  special  conditions  of  disease  there  may  be  found 
various  substances  in  the  blood  which  destroy  germs. 

It  would  seem  that  an  all-wise  Creator,  in  designing  the 
body,  had  made  provision  for  every  imaginable  emergency. 
It  certainly  is  a  privilege,  as  well  as  a  duty,  to  study  these 
divinely  ordained  means  of  life-defence,  in  order  that  we 
may  refrain  from  in  the  least  impairing  them,  and  also  that 
we  may  know  how  to  cooperate  with  Nature  more  intelli- 


236  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

gently  and  efficiently  in  her  wonderful  and  incessant  struggle 
to  maintain  life  and  health. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  systematic  study  of  the  means  by 
which  the  physical  body  defends  itself  against  disease. 

ELIMINATION  OF  GERMS  AND  THEIR  POISONS 

When  germs  invade  the  human  body,  the  organism  at 
once  is  aroused  to  an  earnest  and  united  effort  to  expel  the 
destroyers.  This  work  of  eliminating  disease  germs  and 
their  toxins  is  conducted  by  four  different  channels: 

i.  The  bowels..  .When  the  gastro-intestinal  tract  is  in- 
fested by  microbes,  they  are  eliminated  in  large  numbers  by 
the  bowels,  and  it  is  claimed  that  in  some  instances  germs 
may  even  be  thrown  out  of  the  blood  into  the  intestine. 
This  explains  why  it  is  necessary  to  disinfect  thoroughly  the 
bowel  discharges  of  persons  suffering  from  infectious  dis- 
eases, especially  such  diseases  as  typhoid  fever,  dysentery, 
cholera,  etc.,  so  as  to  avoid  the  unnecessary  spread  of  the 
disease. 

Germ  poisons  are  likewise  eliminated  by  the  bowels,  and 
this  accounts  for  the  presence  of  diarrhoea  in  so  many  dis- 
eases. Poisons  are  eliminated  through  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  bowels,  which  sets  up  a  catarrhal  process,  just 
as  is  done  by  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  nose  when  one 
has  a  bad  cold. 

2.  The  kidneys.    The  kidneys  likewise  take  part  in  the 
elimination  of  disease  germs.    In  many  diseases  germs  are 
found  in  the  urine,  as  in  typhoid  fever,  and  the  same  care 
should  be  taken  to  disinfect  the  urine  in  this  disease,  as  to 
disinfect  the  bowel  discharge.     Many  toxins   from  disease 
germs  are  also  eliminated  through  the  urine  after  being  ex- 
tracted from  the  blood  by  the  kidneys. 

3.  The  skin.    In  conditions  of  some  severe  infections,  dis- 
ease germs  may  be  found  in  the  skin,  being  eliminated  by 
means  of  the  sweat-glands,  etc.    This  is  true  of  some  parts 
of  the  body  in  typhoid  fever.     For  this  and  other  reasons, 
great  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the  skin  clean  and  active. 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  237 

In  all  forms  of  disease,  the  skin  should  be  kept  healthy  by 
maintaining  a  constant  circulation  of  the  blood  by  means  of 
suitable  bathing,  etc. 

4.  The  lungs.  While  the  germs  themselves  are  probably 
not  eliminated  bodily  by  the  lungs,  large  quantities  of  poison 
are  thrown  off  from  the  body  in  disease,  along  with  the 
normal  poisons  of  respiration. 

CRIPPLING   OR   DISABLING  THE  GERMS 

Nature  is  wonderfully  resourceful  in  her  battles  with  the 
microbe.  When  she  fails  to  eliminate  these  invaders  suc- 
cessfully, she  utilizes  her  marvellous  means  of  crippling  and 
disabling  her  foes.  This  work  is  accomplished  in  a  number 
of  ways,  as  follows: 

i.  Agglutination.  There  is  present  in  the  blood  a  certain 
substance  called  agglutinin  (a  sort  of  germ-poison  or  chloro- 
form), which  is  able  to  handicap  the  germs  in  their  work, 
and  thus  facilitates  their  capture  and  destruction.  Under 
the  influence  of  the  agglutinins,  the  germs  are  partially  over- 
come, and  caused  to  gather  about  in  clusters  or  chains.  (Fig. 
22.)  They  are  rendered  more  or  less  helpless,  and  thus  they 
are  checked  in  their  work  of  pillage  and  plunder.  These 
agglutinins  are  found  in  the  blood,  and  are  supposed  to  be 
secreted  by  some  of  the  cells  of  the  body. 

This  work  of  crippling  the  germs  and  gathering  them  to- 
gether in  clusters,  also  makes  it  easier  for  the  white  blood 
cells  to  catch  and  eat  them  up. 

2.  Attenuation.    There  are  other  substances  in  the  blood, 
which  are  able  to  decrease  the  disease-producing  powers  of 
the  germ;  that  is,  to  lessen  its  virulence.    This  process  of 
germ-crippling  is  called  attenuation.     It  is  probably  due  to 
the  action  of  these  attenuating  substances  that  some  mem- 
bers of  the  family  may  not  have  a  disease  quite  so  severely 
as  the  others,  or  may  escape  it  altogether. 

3.  By  increasing  the  temperature.    It  has  been  found  that 
when  the  temperature  of  the  body  is  raised  to  about  102"  F., 
the  multiplication  of  the  germs  in  the  body  is  greatly  inter- 


238  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

fered  with.  This  higher  temperature  also  encourages  the 
production  of  anti-toxins  by  the  body;  and  it  is  for  these 
very  reasons  that  moderate  fever  is  a  real  aid  in  the  strug- 
gle against  infectious  diseases,  provided  it  is  not  allowed  to 
rage  too  furiously.  Temperature  above  102°  is  highly  de- 
structive to  the  tissues  of  the  body,  and  at  the  same  time 
gives  no  additional  aid  to  the  defensive  processes. 

DILUTING   THE   TOXINS 

It  must  be  remembered  that  many  of  our  most  dreaded 
diseases  are  produced  not  so  much  by  the  presence  of  the 
germ  itself  in  the  body,  but  rather  by  means  of  certain 
poisons  called  toxins,  which  the  germs  secrete  and  which  find 
their  way  into  the  blood,  and  thus  circulate  through  the  en- 
tire body.  For  instance,  diphtheria  germs  are  ordinarily 
found  only  in  the  throat,  but  the  general  symptoms  of  fever 
and  disease  outside  of  the  throat  are  produced  by  its  poisons, 
which  find  their  way  into  the  blood.  Toxins  are  dealt  with 
as  follows: 

1.  Inflammatory  exudate.    It  often  occurs  that  germs  pro- 
duce in  some  part  of  the  body  large  quantities  of  poison, 
which  cannot  be  immediately  eliminated.     In  this  event,  an 
inflammatory  process  is  started,   and  accompanying  this  is 
the  inflammatory  exudate  —  a  substance  which  is  allowed  to 
leak  out  from  the  blood  through  the  vessel  walls,  and  which, 
while    it   is    germicidal,    also    serves   to   dilute   these    germ 
poisons.     (Fig.  23).     In  this  way  the  irritating  and  poison- 
ing effect  of  these  toxins  is  greatly  lessened,  so  that  they 
do  not  so  profoundly  affect  the  living  cells  in  their  battle 
for  life. 

2.  Congestion  of  blood.    Accompanying  this  inflammatory 
process  there  is  an  active  congestion.     That   is,  increased 
quantities  of  blood  are  caused  to  flow  through  the  affected 
part,  and  thus  thousands  of  fresh  troops  —  the  white  blood 
cells  —  are  brought  to  the  scene  of  battle,  to  fight  for  the 
life  of  the  threatened  tissues.     Also  an  increased  amount  of 
the  germ-destroying  serum  is  thus  poured  upon  the  scene  of 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  239 

trouble.  Congestion  is  good  as  long  as  it  is  active,  and  fresh 
blood  is  being  constantly  brought  to  the  seat  of  difficulty; 
but  when  the  condition  becomes  passive,  and  the  blood  stag- 
nant, it  becomes  then  rather  an  aid  to  the  disease  germs  in 
their  deadly  work  if  too  long  continued. 

INCAPSULATING  THE   GERMS 

When  the  germs  become  securely  lodged  and  firmly  es- 
tablished in  the  body,  and  all  efforts  to  eliminate  them  are 
without  avail,  then  it  is  that  a  wise  and  wonderful  process 
of  nature  begins  the  work  of  making  these  germs  veritable 
prisoners.  The  wonderful  process  of  incapsulation,  or 
bottling-up,  begins,  by  which  they  are  soon  surrounded  by 
structures  so  dense  and  impenetrable  as  effectually  to  cut 
off  their  escape  to  other  parts  of  the  body,  as  well  as  to  pre- 
vent their  offspring  from  spreading  on  tours  of  further  mis- 
chief-making. This  marvellous  process  of  incapsulation  is 
carried  on  by  means  of  the  combined  influence  of  a  number 
of  agencies,  as  follows : 

1.  Coagulation  of  fibrin.    The  circulating  blood  of  man 
contains   a   liquid   fibrinous   material  which,   under  the  in- 
fluence of  certain  substances  that  may  be  produced  in  the 
blood,  is  caused  to  coagulate,  just  as  the  white  of  an  egg 
hardens  when  dropped  into  boiling  water.     (Fig.  24.)     This 
coagulation  of  the  blood  is  first  manifested  by  the  formation 
of  delicate  threads,  which  serve  as  guiding  strings,  or  we 
might  say  bridges,  over  which  untold  millions  of  white  blood 
cells,  the  invincible  army  of  the  interior,  find  their  way  to 
the  seat  of  the  struggle,  and  line  themselves  up  for  battle 
royal  against  the  hemmed-up  enemy. 

2.  The  wall  of  leucocytes.    The  next  step  in  this  "  bottling- 
up  "  process  consists  in  the  building  of  a  strong  wall  about 
the   germs.    These   little   white-cell   soldiers,   after   fighting 
with   all  their  energy  in  the   struggle  with   the  germs  —  a 
battle  in  which  many  are  overcome  and  lose  their  lives  — 
line  themselves  up  around  the  germs  on  all  sides,  in  battle 
array.    They  are  found  to  range  themselves  orderly,  in  sev- 


240  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

eral  layers;  the  leucocytes  of  one  order  occupying  the  front 
ranks,  while  another  rank  of  body-defenders  is  lined  up  im- 
mediately behind,  and  still  another  order  of  soldiers  occupy 
the  flank.  These  all  press  together  and,  by  utilizing  the 
dead  bodies  of  their  fallen  comrades,  build  up  a  solid,  com- 
pact, and  usually  impenetrable  wall  about  the  disease-breed- 
ing germs.  (Fig.  25.)  It  often  develops  that  the  germs  are 
too  many  in  number  to  be  thus  destroyed,  and  so  large  pus 
cavities  or  abscesses  may  subsequently  develop  by  the  break- 
ing down  in  one  place  of  this  wall,  which  was  so  ingeniously 
built  up  by  our  valiant  little  soldiers. 

•  3.  Digestion  and  absorption.  The  question  will  naturally 
be  asked,  "  What  will  become  of  such  a  colony  of  bottled-up 
germs,  should  the  white  blood  cells  be  successful  in  hem- 
ming them  in  and  walling  them  up?  This  is  the  answer: 
These  same  little  cell-soldiers  which  have  compassed  the  de- 
struction of  their  enemies  secrete  from  their  bodies  a  fluid 
which  contains  a  substance  similar  to  pepsin,  and  able  lit- 
erally to  eat  its  way  into  the  germs ;  it  actually  dissolves 
them,  and  later  they  are  absorbed  by  the  surrounding  fluids 
and  carried  off,  in  identically  the  same  way  that  a  piece  of 
meat  or  the  white  of  an  egg  is  dissolved  by  the  pepsin  of 
the  gastric  juice  in  the  stomach,  and  afterwards  is  absorbed 
into  the  blood  through  the  walls  of  the  digestive  tract.  In 
this  way,  untold  millions  of  disease  germs  may  be  finally 
disposed  of,  after  having  been  overpowered  in  their  struggle 
with  the  leucocytes. 

The  digestive  substances  thrown  out  from  the  white  cells 
which  effect  this  work  are  called  alexines. 

NEUTRALIZING,    MODIFYING,   AND  DESTROYING  TOXINS 

The  many  changes  which  are  wrought  upon  germ  secre- 
tions, to  render  them  less  harmful  or  to  neutralize  them 
altogether,  are  accomplished  by  three  different  processes: 

i.  Neutralization  by  anti-toxins.  These  substances  are 
secreted  by  the  body  under  the  stimulus  of  the  disease- 
poison,  and  they  are  able  partially  or  completely  to  neu- 


, 


Fl  G. 22.   Agglutination 


nr.  •?•*    Inflammatory 
MC3°       Exudate. 


FIG  9&' 


FIG.  25.-  Wall  of  Uucocrtes 


. 


(PUS  CAVITY) 


FIG.  26.-  White  blood  cells,  caphtrlnj] and eatinQ germs 

How  the  body  resists  disease 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  241 

tralize  the  poison  of  the  germs  in  the  same  way  that  an  acid 
will  chemically  neutralize  an  alkali.  There  is  a  satisfying* 
union  which  takes  place  between  the  two  that  results  in  the 
formation  of  a  new  substance,  which  is  neutral  and  harmless 
to  the  system. 

It  is  on  this  principle  that  the  anti-toxin  of  diphtheria 
operates.  It  neutralizes  the  toxin  secreted  by  the  diphtheria 
germs,  and  thus  affords  almost  immediate  relief.  It  often 
requires  a  number  of  days,  sometimes  a  week,  for  the  body 
to  acquire  the  ability  for  making  sufficient  anti-toxin  to  neu- 
tralize the  enormous  quantities  of  poisons  which  are  secreted 
in  the  cases  of  sudden  infections. 

Not  all  is  known  concerning  the  action  of  these  various 
anti-toxins,  but  it  is  supposed  that  specific  bodies  must  be 
secreted  with  power  to  neutralize  the  specific  poisons  of  the 
different  diseases. 

2.  Modification  "by  the  liver  and  other  agencies.    The  body 
not  only  eliminates  poison,  dilutes  it,  neutralizes  it,  etc.,  but 
it  possesses  means  whereby  it  may  modify  many  poisons,  and 
thus  render  them  less  destructive.     This  work  is  largely  car- 
ried on  by  the  liver,  which  has  power  actually  to  change 
harmful  poisons  into  harmless  substances,  and  also  is  en- 
dowed with  the  remarkable  property  of  receiving  into  itself 
large  quantities  of  poison  which  may  be  gathered  up  through 
the  portal  circulation  from  the  digestive  organs,  and  hold 
this  poison  within  its  own  body,  subsequently  changing  it 
into  a  harmless  substance;  or,  if  this  is  impossible,  doling  it 
out  into  the  circulation  in  small  quantities,  day  by  day,  en- 
abling the  body  to  eliminate  it,  and  thus  escape  poisoning 
from  being  overwhelmed  at  once  by  the  whole  amount.    The 
thyroid  gland  also  destroys  poisons. 

3.  Destruction   by   oxidation.    One   great   good  to   result 
from  fever  is  that  by  its  elevation  of  temperature,  the  oxi- 
dation or  burning  up  of  large  quantities  of  poison  is  effected. 
This  oxidation  is  best  promoted  by  a  temperature  between 
101  and  1 02.     A  higher  temperature  is  no  more  efficacious, 
while  it  results  in  the  unnecessary  destruction  of  the  tissues 

of  the  body. 
16 


242  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

DESTROYING   THE   GERMS 

When  the  body  is  unable  to  eliminate,  cripple,  or  incap- 
sulate  germs ;  or,  in  case  of  having  successfully  incapsulated 
them,  it  immediately  begins  the  work  of  crippling  them 
preliminary  to  their  final  destruction,  which  is  accomplished 
in  a  number  of  ways: 

1.  By  germicidal  substances.    This  germ-killing  principle 
probably  consists  of  two  elements,  one  that  is  always  found 
in  normal  blood,  and  one  that  is  manufactured  by  the  body 
to  meet  its  specific  invaders.     These  two  elements  unite  and 
effectually  compass  the  destruction  of  the  microbes. 

2.  By  the  alexines.    These  are  the  dissolving  or  digesting 
ferments  which  are  thrown  out  from  the  bodies  of  the  white 
blood  cells,  and  which  effect  the  dissolution  or  removal  'of 
their  fallen  enemies  from  the  battle-field. 

3.  The  leucocytes,  or  white  blood  cells.    These  little  wan- 
dering warriors  have  power  to  throw  out  from  their  bodies 
minute  arms  and  legs,  and  thus  to  wrap  themselves  around 
the  germ,  literally  swallowing  it  whole.     (Fig.  26.)     Such 
germs  are  digested  within  the  bodies  of  the  white  cells. 

It  has  recently  been  discovered  that  the  white  blood  cells 
are  not  always  able  to  attack  and  overpower  germs.  There 
is  produced  by  the  cells  of  the  body  a  substance  which  is 
found  circulating  in  the  blood,  called  opsonin,  which  is  able 
to  chloroform,  stupefy,  or  in  some  other  way,  weaken  the 
germs  of  certain  diseases,  so  as  to  make  them  a  ready  prey 
to  the  leucocytes.  In  some  diseases  the  blood  may  be  swarm- 
ing with  white  cells,  but  if  the  opsonin  is  not  present  to  pre- 
pare their  prey  for  them,  the  white  cells  are  unable  to 
attract  and  overpower  their  little  enemies.  Opsonin  then 
becomes  an  important  factor  in  the  resistance  of  the  body 
against  disease. 

When  a  patient  has  pneumonia,  opsonin  is  not  found  in  the 
blood  until  about  the  time  of  the  crisis,  although  the  blood 
contains  enormously  increased  numbers  of  white  cells;  but 
when  the  opsonin  appears  —  whatever  it  is  —  it  so  weakens 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  243 

the  pneumonia  germs  that  they  fall  immediate  victims  to 
the  attacks  of  the  white  cells,  the  crisis  of  the  disease  oc- 
curs, and  the  patient  begins  to  recover. 

The  little  "first  aid"  cells  manifest  great  fear  of  certain 
classes  of  germs,  such  as  the  microbes  of  many  acute  dis- 
eases; and  that  is  why  the  disease  rages  so  furiously  for  a 
number  of  days  until  the  body  develops  more  opsonin  to 
weaken  and  cripple  the  microbes,  so  that  they  can  be  suc- 
cessfully attacked  by  the  leucocytes.  The  opsonin  seems  to 
render  the  germs  palatable  to  the  leucocytes.  It  may  also 
act  by  serving  as  a  stimulating  influence  to  the  white  cells, 
encouraging  them  to  attack  the  germs,  or,  if  the  facts  were 
fully  known,  it  might  appear  that  the  opsonin  exerts  an  in- 
fluence over  both  the  germs  and  the  blood  cells. 

Macrophags.  It  is  a  singular  and  interesting  fact  that 
the  ntacrophags,  that  is,  the  large  white  cells,  with  a  large 
nucleus,  seem  to  evince  a  preference  for  an  animal  diet. 
They  are  the  cells  which  eat  up  the  dead  tissue  and  debris 
that  is  scattered  about  a  wound.  And  when  under  the  in- 
fluence of  certain  irritant  poisons,  absorbed  from  the  intes- 
tine, they  behave  very  strangely,  especially  if  the  body  cells 
are  weak,  and  there  is  evidence  of  senile  decay.  They  have 
been  observed  to  prey  upon  the  body  itself.  (Fig.  27.) 
Under  the  spell  of  these  poisons,  these  former  defenders  of 
the  body  turn  insurgent,  and  devour  brain  cells,  liver  cells, 
and  feed  upon  any  part  of  the  body  that  happens  to  be  in  a 
weakened  state ;  showing  great  preference  for  the  nerves, 
brain  cells,  and  other  of  the  more  highly  organized  tissues. 
This  affords  a  simple  explanation  of  loss  of  memory  and 
many  other  symptoms  found  in  old  age. 

In  old  age,  these  very  cells  depart  from  their  former 
habits  of  defence  and  virtue,  and  spend  their  time  in  the 
vicious  work  of  destroying  their  fellow  body  cells,  thus  pro- 
ducing atrophy,  sclerosis,  and  even  gray  hairs ;  and  cases  are 
on  record  in  which  a  person  has  turned  gray  in  a  single 
night,  due  to  the  fact  that  hordes  of  macrophags  invaded 
the  hairs  from  the  roots,  and  carried  away  the  pigment  in 
the  space  of  a  few  hours. 


244  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Such  conduct  as  this  on  the  part  of  the  macrophags,  to 
whatever  cause  it  is  due,  might  aptly  be  termed  "  The  trea- 
son of  the  standing  army." 

Microphags.  The  "  microphags "  are  the  smaller  white 
blood  cells;  those  which  contain  a  somewhat  divided 
nucleus,  resembling  a  bundle  of  sausages.  This  permits 
them  to  go  through  a  very  small  opening,  and  they  are  even 
able  to  penetrate  bone.  (Fig.  28.)  They  are  good  fighters, 
and  there  is  the  record  of  an  experiment  in  which  ten  mil- 
lions of  germs  were  in  twenty  minutes  reduced  to  nine 
thousand,  by  a  battalion  of  these  valiant  little  soldiers. 

There  are  a  number  of  germs  that  invade  the  human  body, 
which  are  almost  as  large  as,  or  even  larger  than,  the  white 
blood  cells.  How  do  these  little  fellows  manage  such  large 
intruders  ?  They  do  it  in  this  way :  A  number  of  the  white 
blood  cells  unite  together  —  literally  fuse  their  bodies  to- 
gether, and  produce  what  might  be  termed  a  "  giant "  cell, 
and  in  this  collective  capacity  they  attack  the  invader.  The 
germs  seem  to  know  the  white  cells  as  their  enemies,  and 
are  found  constantly  to  flee  from  their  presence. 

4.  Certain  fixed  cells.    Certain  cells  of  the  body  which  are 
stationary,  such  as  endothelial  and  epithelial  cells,  are  also 
found  to  take  on  amoeboid  movements  in  an  emergency,  and 
assist  their  brothers,  the  white  cells,  very  materially  in  the 
work    of    devouring    and    destroying    disease-breeding    in- 
truders. 

5.  The   lymph   glands.    The    lymph    glands    constitute    a 
great  system  of  breastworks  —  a  chain  of  protected  forts  — 
which  effectually  back  up  the  advance  guard  and  firing  line 
of  the  body's  defensive  army.     When  the  white  cells  and  the 
various  agencies  before  enumerated  are  unable  to  cope  with 
the  invaders,  and  the  enemy  tomes  from  without  or  comes  in 
vast  hordes,  and  is  so  powerful  as  to  sweep  aside  the  usual 
defences  of  health  and  life,  then  it  is  they  must  pass  through 
this  system  of  fortifications  arranged  throughout  the  body 
for  its  final  defence  against  the  invasion  of  disease. 

Within  the  lymph  glands  are  found  the  sturdy  lymph  cells, 


White.   Blood  Cells  (  Macrophages )  Eating  of 
drain  and  Kidney  Cells  of  the  Body. 


—          V, /       osaof 

FIG.  28.-    \frhita.  Blood  Cells  (  Ma  croppages)  Passing 
fftraugh  Blood  Vessel  Wall  in  search  af  GErms- 


-  Lymph  Glands 


OMENTUM 


F-IG..3O.-    The  Omentum 


How  the  body  reststs 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  245 

which,  after  methods  similar  to  those  of  the  white  blood 
cells,  are  able  to  resist  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  And 
when  the  battle  waxes  hot,  the  lymph  glands  may  enlarge, 
or,  as  we  commonly  speak  of  them,  become  inflamed  and 
swollen,  and  thus  the  field  of  battle  and  the  possibility  for 
producing  new  soldiers  is  enormously  increased.  (Fig.  29.) 
So,  while  the  swelling  of  a  lymph  gland,  as  is  seen  in 
scrofula  and  other  conditions,  is  an  evidence  that  the  body 
is  poisoned,  that  it  is  invaded  by  no  small  number  of  un- 
friendly germs,  it  also  indicates  that  Nature  is  nobly  rising 
to  the  occasion,  to  meet  the  enemy  by  increasing  her  means 
of  defence  and  enlarging  her  fortifications.  The  sensible 
thing  to  do  is  to  cooperate  with  this  wonderful  healing  proc- 
ess within  the  body,  and  seek  to  help  Nature  in  her  earnest 
struggle  against  the  germs. 

6.  The  amentum.  The  omentum  is  a  great  vascular  apron 
which  hangs  down  in  the  abdominal  cavity,  from  the  region 
of  the  stomach,  and  which  has  power,  when  germs  enter 
the  cavity  and  inflammation  and  infection  are  threatened, 
to  extend  itself  even  down  into  the  pelvic  cavity  and  there, 
by  means  of  its  great  vascular  supply,  to  bring  more  of  the 
fighting  blood  cells  to  the  scene  of  the  battle,  to  bring  more 
blood  to  nourish  the  struggling  tissues,  and  to  carry  away 
the  poison  secreted  by  the  germs.  (Fig.  30.)  During 
surgical  operations,  we  often  find  the  omentum  adhering  in 
some  far-off  corner  of  the  abdominal  cavity,  which  finding 
is  a  silent  testimony  of  the  vital  struggle  of  former  days. 

WHAT  IS  IMMUNITY? 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  some  persons,  although  re- 
peatedly exposed  to  certain'  diseases,  never  contract  them. 
It  is  equally  well  known  that  when  a  person  has  had  yellow 
fever,  smallpox,  and  certain  other  diseases,  he  is  not  likely 
ever  again  to  suffer  from  these  infections.  Why  is  this? 
It  is  due  to  what  doctors  call  immunity.  What  is  immunity  ? 
Briefly  stated,  the  theory  of  immunity  is  as  follows : 

It  is  supposed  that  the  cells  of  the  body  have  certain  abil- 


246  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

ities  to  combine  with  the  poisons  of  disease.  This  ability  of 
the  cell  to  unite  with  poison  might  be  represented  to  the 
mind  by  saying  that  each  cell  had  a  number  of  little  arms. 
In  conditions  of  health,  these  arms  are  probably  devoted  to 
the  work  of  taking  up  food  to  nourish  the  cell;  in  disease 
they  have  power  to  reach  out  and  take  hold  of  poison. 
These  arms  are  called  receptors;  and  one  of  the  theories  of 
contagious  diseases  and  other  infections  is  that  the  poisons 
circulating  in  the  blood  are  united  to  these  little  receptors  of 
the  cells.  Under  the  influence  of  the  disease,  the  cells  are 
stimulated  to  make  large  numbers  of  extra  receptors,  and  it 
is  thought  that  receptors  may  be  even  thrown  out  from  the 
cell  and  circulate  in  the  blood  as  the  anti-toxic  bodies  be- 
fore mentioned. 

In  hereditary  immunity,  it  is  supposed  that  the  individ- 
ual is  born  with  these  receptors  for  some  particular  dis- 
ease either  absent,  or  else  all  satisfied  previous  to  birth.  In 
acquired  immunity,  these  receptors  of  the  cell  are  supposed 
to  be  all  satisfied  when  an  individual  has  the  disease  once  — 
say,  for  instance,  yellow  fever  —  so  that  yellow  fever  poisons 
that  may  enter  the  blood  in  the  future  are  not  able  to  attach 
themselves  to  any  of  the  body  cells.  And  this  would  confer 
life  immunity.  In  the  case  of  some  diseases,  such  as  diph- 
theria and  others,  it  would  seem  that  the  receptors  do  not 
remain  long  satisfied,  and  so  after  a  short  lapse  of  time,  a 
few  months  or  years,  the  individual  can  have  the  disease 
again. 

Immunity  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  "  natural  "  and  "  arti- 
ficial " —  natural  immunity  referring  to  the  process  of  sat- 
urating the  cells  of  the  body  by  means  of  natural  reaction  to 
the  disease  when  once  contracted;  whereas  artificial  im- 
munity refers  to  such  instances  as  vaccination  against  small- 
pox, and  diphtheria  anti-toxin.  In  the  latter  case,  the  horse 
has  diphtheria  and  develops  large  numbers  of  anti-toxin 
bodies,  which  are  thrown  out  into  the  blood;  and  then  this 
blood  is  found  to  be  effective  in  destroying  diphtheria 
poisons  when  introduced  into  the  blood  of  a  child  suffering 
from  diphtheria.  In  the  other  case,  the  cow  has  smallpox 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE 

and  develops  a  milder  form  of  disease  called  cowpox;  then 
the  immunity  developed  by  the  cow  against  the  disease  (and 
many  of  the  immune  bodies  are  found  circulating  in  the 
blood  of  the  animal)  is  administered  to  man  by  means  of 
vaccination.  In  this  way  the  patient  gets  the  benefit  of  the 
cow's  immunity,  and  hence  it  is  termed  acquired  immunity. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  man,  when  perfectly  healthy, 
would  probably  be  immune  from  all  disease.  Hence,  what 
we  term  immunity  in  this  connection  here,  is  merely  an 
effort  to  explain  the  processes  whereby  the  body,  when  once 
it  has  had  a  disease,  will  not,  in  some  instances,  ever  again 
contract  it,  while  in  others  it  will  be  found  immune  for  many 
years.  It  is  not  altogether  known  just  how  this  immunity 
is  conferred,  but  the  foregoing  is  representative  of  the  latest 
theories  advanced  by  the  scientific  workers  who  are  search- 
ing along  these  lines. 

HOW   TO   INCREASE   VITAL   RESISTANCE 

It  must  be  apparent  from  a  study  of  this  chapter  that  it  is 
highly  important  that  man  should  know  how  to  cooperate 
with  Nature  in  her  efforts  to  resist  disease.  This  coopera- 
tion must  be  largely  shaped  and  regulated  by  the  imme- 
diate struggle  in  which  the  body  may  be  engaged;  but  pre- 
ventive medication  is  by  far  the  most  valuable.  An  ounce 
of  prevention  is  worth  a  ton  of  cure,  when  it  comes  to  in- 
creasing vital  resistance.  We  should  treat  our  diseases  be- 
fore we  get  them.  By  this  we  mean,  develop  such  a  store 
of  vital  resistance  and  acquire  such  a  stock  of  vital  energy 
as  to  make  the  physical  constitution  impregnable  to  the  on- 
slaughts of  the  microbe. 

How  can  this  be  done  ?  The  reader  is  referred  back  to  the 
earlier  chapters  dealing  with  Breathing,  Exercise,  Sunlight, 
Diet,  Bathing,  etc.,  and  to  the  chapter  on  Fresh  Air  to  fol- 
low. All  these  seeds  of  health  should  be  diligently  sown  in 
the  daily  practices  of  the  individual.  They  are  sure  to  grow 
and  yield  a  bountiful  harvest  of  strong  vital  resistance. 

Briefly  summed  up,  vital  resistance  is  secured  by  living  a 
natural  life,  the  simple  life,  the  obedient  life.  Study  dili- 


248  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

gently  to  find  out  God's  laws  of  life  and  their  application  to 
you,  and  then  faithfully  and  conscientiously  live  up  to  your 
light. 

Live  the  outdoor  life  as  far  as  possible.  Sleep  out  of 
doors,  if  you  can't  work  out  of  doors.  Take  regular  and 
systematic  exercise.  Keep  your  dietetic  habits  in  harmony 
with  nature.  Don't  overeat.  Eat  foods  that  will  increase 
the  alkalinity  of  the  blood.  To  do  this,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  avoid  carefully  an  excess  of  protein ;  that  is,  such  sub- 
stances as  flesh-foods,  cheese,  beans,  etc.  Study  well  the 
food  you  require  to  keep  up  your  weight  and  strength;  then 
eat  with  a  clear  conscience,  giving  no  thought  whatever  to 
digestion.  Worry  over  one's  diet  is  the  surest  way  to  get 
dyspepsia.  Eat  your  bread  as  the  early  disciples  ate  theirs  — 
"  with  gladness  of  heart,"  chewing  it  thoroughly,  and  trust- 
ing the  wonderful  powers  of  digestion  to  do  the  rest. 

See  that  the  bowels  are  kept  regular  and  active.  Con- 
stipation is  responsible  for  a  large  share  of  headaches,  de- 
pressed feelings,  and,  we  might  say,  failures  in  life.  Don't 
allow  poisons  to  accumulate  in  the  intestinal  tract,  where 
they  will  be  reabsorbed  into  the  blood  to  irritate  the  nervous 
system  and  interfere  with  all  the  work  and  pleasures  of  life. 
The  various  means  by  which  the  bowels  may  be  kept  active 
and  regular  cannot  be  considered  here,  but  one  most  val- 
uable item  may  be  mentioned,  and  that  is,  promptness  and 
regularity  in  attending  to  the  calls  of  nature. 

Conscientiously  avoid  taking  into  the  body  anything  an- 
tagonistic to  health,  or  that  will  lower  its  resistance.  Such 
substances  as  tea,  coffee,  the  majority  of  poisonous  drugs, 
opium,  morphine,  cocaine,  tobacco,  etc.,  including  alcohol, 
all  lower  the  vital  resistance  of  the  body  and  make  it  more 
susceptible  to  the  attacks  of  disease. 

Anything  which  promotes  the  circulation  of  the  blood  and 
increases  its  alkalinity,  is  of  high  value  in  increasing  the  re- 
sistance against  the  invasion  of  disease  germs.  These  con- 
ditions are  best  accomplished  by  means  of  the  cold  bath  — 
the  swimming  bath,  plunge  bath,  cold  tub  bath,  cold  pour, 
cold  shower  bath,  cold  spray,  the  rubbing  cold  wet  sheet 


HOW  THE  BODY  RESISTS  DISEASE  249 

pack,  the  cold  hand  bath,  or  cold  mitten  friction,  which  con- 
sists of  rubbing  one  part  of  the  body  at  a  time  with  a  rough 
mohair  mitten,  dipped  in  ice  water,  thoroughly  drying  that 
portion  of  the  body  before  treating  another.  This  is  es- 
pecially adapted  to  bedridden  patients,  and  those  whose 
powers  of  reaction  are  somewhat  enfeebled.  Fresh  fruit 
juice  also  increases  the  alkalinity  of  the  blood. 

Keep  the  mind  peaceful  and  the  conscience  clear.  All 
phases  of  fear,  as  well  as  all  the  passionate  emotions  in 
which  fear  is  a  factor,  such  as  anxiety,  envy,  jealousy,  grief, 
worry,  hatred,  despondency,  revenge,  remorse,  etc. —  all  di- 
rectly and  powerfully  influence  the  physical  health  through 
their  depressing  effect,  primarily  upon  the  cerebro-spinal 
nervous  system,  and  reflexly  upon  the  sympathetic  nervous 
system. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE 

THE  HUMAN  BRAIN. —  ANATOMY  OF  THE  NERVES. —  SYMPATHETIC 
NERVES. —  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES. —  REFLEX 
ACTION. —  ENERGY  GRANULES. —  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  SYMPA- 
THETIC NERVES. —  THE  SPECIAL  SENSES. —  HOW  WE  THINK. — 

THE  VALUE  OF  SLEEP. —  THE  VALUE  OF  RECREATION. —  SOUND 
SLEEP. —  INSOMNIA. —  BRAIN  FOODS  AND  BRAIN  POISONS. —  IN- 
STINCT.—  THE  MISSION  OF  PAIN. —  HEREDITY  AND  PERSONALITY. 

THE   nervous   system   is   the   channel   of  communication 
between  man  and  his  Maker.     The  brain  is  the  citadel 
of  will,   reason,  judgment,  and  choice ;  it  is  the  sanctuary 
of  the  moral  nature,  the  dwelling-place  of  conscience,  and 
the  abode  of  the  spiritual  emotions.     (Fig.  31.) 

THE   HUMAN   BRAIN. 

The  brain  consists  of  three  parts:  the  upper  brain,  the 
middle  brain,  and  the  lower  brain.  The  brain  substance 
consists  of  the  cell-bodies  of  untold  thousands  of  little  nerve 
cells.  These  little  brain  cells  or  centres  have  numerous 
nerve  fibres  going  to  and  coming  out  from  them. 

The  brain  is  richly  supplied  with  blood-vessels,  and  con- 
tains many  lymph  channels.  At  the  base  of  the  brain,  the 
blood-vessels  form  a  perfect  circle  which  allows  of  the  free 
and  even  distribution  of  the  blood,  and  the  equalization  of  its 
pressure. 

The  basal  ganglia  are  certain  small  collections  of  nerve 
matter  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  which  have  to  do  with  the 
regulation  of  many  special  functions.  No  one  knows  the 
number  of  cells  in  the  brain,  but  they  have  been  estimated 
to  run  from  three  billion  to  one  hundred  billion. 

250 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE      2$ I 

ANATOMY   OF   THE   NERVES 

The  nervous  system  is  in  reality  a  continuation  or  ex- 
tension of  the  brain.  The  spinal  cord  extends  from  the 
lower  brain  at  the  base  of  the  skull  down  through  the  spinal 
canal,  giving  off  nerve  branches  on  either  side,  which  later 
divide  into  anterior  and  posterior  roots,  and  which  eventually 
encircle  the  entire  body,  extending  out  to  the  arms  and 
hands,  and  down  the  legs  to  the  feet.  The  entire  nervous 
system  is  composed  of  these  individual  nerve  units  called 
"  neurons."  (Fig.  31.) 

The  neuron  consists  of  a  cell  body  with  numerous 
branches,  one  of  which  is  usually  longer  and  larger  than  the 
others,  and  is  the  branch  over  which  the  nerve  cell  sends  its 
outgoing  impulses.  The  branches  over  which  the  incoming 
impulses  pass,  are  usually  smaller  and  more  numerous.  The 
ends  of  these  branches  form  small  tufts  designed  for  making 
contact  with  the  processes  of  other  nerve  cells. 

The  nerve  paths,  therefore,  are  really  not  continuous. 
From  no  part  of  the  body  can  nerve  impressions  pass  over  a 
continuous  tract  to  the  brain.  They  must  pass  over  from 
one  to  three  different  nerves  in  reaching  the  brain  centres. 

The  nerves  belonging  to  the  sensory  or  voluntary  nervous 
system  are  usually  covered  with  a  sheath,  which  serves  as  a 
sort  of  insulation,  and  may  be  compared  with  the  rubber  or 
gutta-percha  insulation  of  electric  wires. 

All  up  and  down  the  spinal  column,  nerve  branches  cross 
back  and  forth  from  the  various  nerve  tracts.  The  great 
majority  of  the  nerve  fibres  cross  over  from  one  side  to  the 
other  as  they  are  leaving  the  spinal  column  and  entering  the 
brain.  This  explains  why  a  blood  clot  on  the  right  side  of 
the  brain  produces  paralysis  on  the  left  side  of  the  body. 

Sympathetic  nerves.  While  the  nerves  coming  from  the 
brain  and  spinal  cord  have  to  do  with  the  body's  sensations, 
movements,  and  voluntary  acts,  all  the  vital  processes  of  the 
life,  including  breathing,  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  diges- 
tion, nutrition,  elimination,  etc.,  are  entirely  regulated  by 
the  sympathetic  nervous  system.  This  system  is  formed  by 


252  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

a  double  chain  of  nerve  masses,  extending  on  either  side  of 
the  spinal  column  from  the  base  of  the  brain  to  near  the  end 
of  the  spine.  Special  collections  of  nerve  matter  are  found 
in  the  chest  and  pelvis,  while  an  enormously  large  mass  is 
found  in  the  abdomen,  known  as  the  solar  plexus  or  "  ab- 
dominal brain."  (Fig.  32.)  Similar  nerve  masses  of  the 
sympathetic  system  are  also  found  in  the  walls  of  all  the  in- 
ternal organs. 

These  sympathetic  nerve  chains  on  either  side  of  the  spine 
are  connected  by  cross  branches,  while  throughout  the  body 
the  two  nervous  systems  make  numerous  contact,  often  by 
means  of  certain  special  relay  stations,  otherwise  known  as 
"  ganglia." 

PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES 

The  various  centres  of  feeling  and  voluntary  action  are 
found  on  the  outside,  or  superficial  portions  of  the  brain. 
The  centres  of  conscious  thinking  are  located  over  to  the 
front,  while  the  centres  controlling  muscular  action  are  lo- 
cated in  the  middle  of  the  brain.  The  brain  centres  for  the 
eye,  ear,  nose,  etc.,  are  toward  the  back  and  lower  part. 

The  nerves  passing  from  the  brain  or  going  to  it  through 
the  spinal  column  are  either  sensory  or  motor  nerves.  The 
sensory  nerves  carry  impressions  from  the  skin,  the  muscles, 
the  special  organs  of  sense,  and  from  various  other  parts 
of  the  body  to  the  brain  centres;  while  the  motor  nerves 
carry  impressions  of  instruction  and  movement,  from  the 
brain  to  the  muscles  and  various  other  organs. 

The  basal  ganglia  already  mentioned  serve  as  sort  of 
middlemen,  or  as  private  secretaries  to  the  brain  centres. 
When  certain  physical  acts  such  as  walking,  writing,  etc., 
are  frequently  performed,  these  basal  ganglia  take  upon 
themselves  to  carry  on  these  habitual  movements  without 
worrying  the  brain.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  start  the 
process  by  orders  from  the  higher  centres.  This  accounts 
for  the  formation  of  physical  habits,  both  good  and  bad, 
and  also  explains  why  it  is  so  difficult  to  break  oneself  of  a 
habit  already  formed. 


The  Brain  and  Nervous  System 


Types  af 
Nerves 


FIG.  31.    The  Nervous  System  and  the  Nerves. 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE      253 

Refiex  action.  The  nerves  passing  back  and  forth  across 
the  spinal  column,  connecting  the  various  incoming  and  out- 
going nerve  tracts,  serve  the  purpose  of  creating  a  short 
cut  for  the  passage  of  nerve  impulses  in  the  spinal  column. 
For  instance,  if  you  touch  a  hot  stove  unawares,  the  im- 
pressions of  burning  and  danger  do  not  have  to  pass  to  the 
higher  centres  of  the  brain  in  order  to  secure  the  instan- 
taneous withdrawal  of  your  hand.  The  sensation  of  pain  in 
the  finger  is  immediately  flashed  over  the  sensory  nerve  to 
the  spinal  cord,  and  here,  by  means  of  the  cross-nervous- 
connection,  reflex  action  takes  place.  That  is,  the  nerves 
passing  to  the  muscles  controlling  the  hand  are  immediately 
excited,  and  at  once  despatch  the  necessary  orders  to  the 
proper  muscles  to  withdraw  the  hand  from  danger.  This 
constitutes  reflex  action,  and  practically  all  the  muscles  of 
the  body  have  their  reflex  centres  in  the  spinal  column.  In 
this  way,  the  eye  can  be  closed  without  thinking,  when 
danger  threatens.  It  is  also  by  this  reflex  action  that  we 
cough  to  remove  mucus  from  the  throat,  sneeze  to  throw  ir- 
ritating substances  out  of  the  nose,  and  vomit  to  empty  the 
stomach  when  nauseated. 

Nerve  impulses  are  carried  back  and  forth,  to  and  from  the 
nerves,  by  currents  of  neuricity,  a  mysterious  substance 
which  in  many  ways  resembles  electricity,  and  which  can  be 
measured  and  studied  in  the  same  manner  as  electrical  cur- 
rents. It  probably  is  a  form  of  electricity. 

Energy  granules.  When  the  healthy  nerve  is  rested,  as  in 
the  morning  after  a  good  night's  sleep,  the  cell  body,  under 
the  microscope,  appears  to  be  filled  with  large  numbers  of 
small,  sand-like  granules.  These  granules  represent  the 
energy  accumulated  during  rest  and  sleep.  As  the  nerve 
begins  its  day's  work,  and  as  the  day  wears  on,  these  gran- 
ules gradually  disappear,  until  at  night,  when  the  body  is 
fatigued  and  the  brain  is  sleepy,  the  nerve  cells  are  found 
to  be  free,  or  almost  free  from  these  granules.  All  the 
energy  has  been  used  up. 

It  would  seem  that  the  nerve  cells  during  rest  and  sleep 
actually  accumulate  energy,  and  these  sand-like  granules 


254  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

might  be  fittingly  compared  to  powder,  the  explosion  of 
which  generates  a  wave  of  nerve  or  electrical  energy,  which 
flashes  over  its  branches,  carrying  the  messages  which  the 
thinking  part  of  the  cell  originates;  for  each  little  cell-body 
must  be  regarded  as  a  small  brain.  The  larger  brain  of  the 
skull,  and  the  great  solar  plexus  of  the  abdomen  are  merely 
vast  collections  of  untold  millions  of  these  tiny  nerve  cells 
or  brain  bodies.  The  collecting  together  of  their  long 
branches  and  their  arrangement  in  bundles  or  cables,  creates 
the  spinal  cord,  containing  almost  a  dozen  separate  bundles 
of  nerves,  part  of  which  go  up  to  the  brain  and  part  of 
which  are  coming  down. 

PHYSIOLOGY    OF   THE    SYMPATHETIC    NERVES 

The  sympathetic  nervous  system  has  its  headquarters  in 
the  abdomen  —  the  "  abdominal  brain."  The  sympathetic 
nerves  spread  to  every  part  of  the  body,  especially  to  the  so- 
called  vital  organs,  which  have  to  do  with  the  maintenance 
and  regulation  of  life.  They  control  the  heart,  lungs, 
stomach,  liver,  kidneys,  bowels,  etc. 

It  is  apparent  that  man  has  two  brains  —  two  nervous  sys- 
tems. He  has  two  sources  from  which  come  orders  to  reg- 
ulate and  control  the  body;  and  it  is  well  that  this  is  so, 
for  such  an  arrangement  makes  it  impossible  for  human  be- 
ings rashly  to  commit  suicide  by  stopping  the  heart  or  ceas- 
ing to  breathe.  You  can  stop  breathing  for  a  few  seconds, 
but  as  soon  as  enough  CO2  gas  collects  in  the  blood,  the 
respiratory  centres  are  excited,  imperative  orders  to  breathe 
are  sent  to  the  lungs,  and  you  can  no  longer  hold  your  breath. 
You  may  give  orders  to  the  heart  to  stop  beating,  but  it  will 
not  obey.  Seventy  times  a  minute  it  receives  the  command 
of  the  sympathetic  nerves  located  in  its  muscle,  to  beat, 
and  in  faithfulness  it  responds.  Only  within  certain  lim- 
its can  you  increase  or  decrease  its  beat,  and  then,  as  a 
rule,  only  by  increasing  or  decreasing  the  necessity  there- 
for. 

The  further  wisdom  of  this  dual  nervous  system  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  mind  and  muscle  of  man  wear  out  from 


F I G .  3  2 .-  The  5  rmpathetic  Nervous  SYS  tern . 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE 

the  day's  work,  and  sleep  is  absolutely  necessary  to  muscu- 
lar recuperation  as  well  as  for  mental  rest,  to  enable  the 
nerve  cells  to  reassemble  their  disappearing  energy  granules. 
But  while  the  man  is  asleep,  the  functions  of  heart  and 
lungs,  as  well  as  the  work  of  digestion  and  nutrition,  must 
of  necessity  go  on  without  interruption,  and  this  is  made 
possible  by  the  fact  that  these  organs  of  life  and  nutrition 
are  under  the  control  of  the  sympathetic  nervous  system, 
which  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps  from  the  cradle'  to  the 
grave.  So  a  man  may  take  his  required  rest  and  unconscious 
sleep,  but  all  the  while  the  ever-watchful  sentinels  of  the 
sympathetic  nerve  centres  carry  on  the  vital  functions  of  the 
body  without  interruption  —  never  the  loss  of  a  single  heart 
beat  or  the  lapse  of  one  respiratory  cycle. 

THE   SPECIAL   SENSES 

The  special  functions  of  the  body  are  carried  on  and  reg- 
ulated by  means  of  special  senses  —  special  nervous  mechan- 
isms such  as  that  of  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  tongue,  the  nose, 
the  sense  of  touch,  etc. 

i.  Sight.  The  camera,  by  the  action  of  sunlight  on  sil- 
ver salts,  takes  pictures  in  black,  or  shadow.  Now,  the 
construction  of  the  eye  is  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of 
the  camera,  except  that  the  pictures  of  the  eye  appear 
in  white,  and  every  color  of  the  object  observed  is  ac- 
tually reproduced.  The  pigment  or  paint  for  the  coloring 
of  objects  on  the  retina  of  the  eye  is  obtained  from  the  liver, 
and  comes  from  the  bodies  of  the  dead  red  blood  corpuscles. 
As  the  form  and  color  of  objects  seen  through  the  eye 
change,  the  pictures  painted  upon  the  retina  must  also  be 
changed.  It  requires  time  for  the  invisible  artist  con- 
stantly painting  these  pictures,  to  change  the  outlines,  and 
this  explains  why  the  projecting  spokes  of  the  rapidly  re- 
volving wheel  present  a  solid  appearance,  and  also  why  a 
bright  object,  when  viewed  for  some  time,  can  be  seen  for 
a  moment  after  turning  away  from  it.  It  takes  time  to  ef- 
face the  pictures  upon  the  retina  and  produce  others  in  their 
place. 


256  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIYING 

By  means  of  the  nerves  passing  from  the  retina  of  the 
eye  to  the  sight  centre  of  the  brain,  all  pictures  appearing  in 
the  eye  are  reproduced  in  the  brain.  Modern  science  has 
achieved  the  wonderful  feat  of  communicating  a  photograph 
by  electricity  over  a  wire  for  hundreds  of  miles,  but  this 
wonderful  accomplishment  has  existed  in  the  normal  eye 
and  mind  since  the  dawn  of  creation.  Another  mystery 
about  sight  is  that  the  objects  seen  actually  appear  on  the 
retina  of  the  eye  upside  down,  and  yet,  when  transmitted  to 
the  sight  centres  of  the  brain,  everything  is  suddenly  and 
wonderfully  reversed,  and  appears  right  side  up. 

2.  Hearing.    The  ear  is  a  trumpet-like  expansion  to  col- 
lect sound  waves.    The  ear  drum  vibrates  in  unison  with 
the  sound  waves.     Immediately  connected  with  the  drum  are 
found   several  little  bones   so  arranged  as   to  magnify  the 
sound,  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  transmitting  de- 
vices of  the  modtrn  telephone.    There  is  also  a  provision  for 
decreasing  sound  when  too  loud.     The  most  wonderful  part 
of  the  medium  of  hearing  is  the  organ  of  Corti,  which  re- 
produces   the    sound    for    the    recognition    of    the    hearing 
centres.    This    wonderful    little   organ   resembles   both    the 
harp  and  the  keyboard  of  a  piano.     It  contains  about  twenty- 
five  thousand  separate  strings. 

While  we  are  asleep,  the  eyes  of  necessity  are  closed,  but 
the  ears  are  never  closed.  When  we  are  sound  asleep,  the 
hearing  is  in  function,  but  the  hearing  centres  have  been  so 
trained  that  they  will  not  respond  to  ordinary  sounds  that 
are  heard  during  sleep.  They  are  aroused  only  by  the  ex- 
traordinary or  unusual.  This  fact  probably  explains  the 
curious  interweaving  of  certain  sounds  heard  at  night  into 
the  dreams. 

The  physics  connected  with  the  science  of  light  sound, 
etc.,  were  fully  discussed  in  the  early  chapters  of  this  book 
and  will  not  be  touched  upon  in  this  connection. 

3.  Smelling.    The  sense  of  smell,  having  its  end  organs  in 
the  nose,  and  having  special  centres  in  the  brain,  is  one  of 
the   most   remarkable   of  the   special   senses.    It   is   highly 
developed   in  many   of   the   lower   animals    (as   the   dog), 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE      257 

but  poorly  developed  in  modern  man.  The  nose  seems  to 
be  able  to  recognize  an  almost  unlimited  number  of  odors; 
and  while  light  waves,  sound  waves,  substances  tasted,  etc., 
have  been  carefully  classified,  strange  to  say,  no  one  has 
ever  been  able  to  classify  odors.  We  usually  describe  what 
we  smell  by  comparing  it  with  something  else.  If  the  sense 
of  smell  were  normal  and  the  individual  healthy,  this  special 
sense,  in  connection  with  the  sense  of  taste,  would  prob- 
ably serve  as  a  fairly  reliable  guide  to  the  selection  of 
proper  and  wholesome  food,  and  the  avoidance  of  poisons 
and  other  dangers.  The  sense  of  smell  is  greatly  injured 
by  the  use  of  snuff,  cigarettes,  etc.,  as  well  as  by  constant 
living  in  polluted  atmospheres,  or  by  the  inhalation  of  air 
containing  poisonous  and  irritating  gases. 

4.  Taste.    The  sense  of  taste  is  connected  with  the  mouth 
and  tongue;  more  largely  the  latter.     We  really  have  but 
four  tastes:  bitter,  sweet,  sour,  and  salty.    Apparently  we 
enjoy   other  tastes,   but   in   reality  we   smell   many   of  the 
substances  which  we  think  we  taste.     The  enjoyment  con- 
nected  with   the   sense    of   taste,   therefore,    is   largely   de- 
pendent upon  the  sense  of  smell.     For  instance,  if  you  eat 
an  onion,  you  apparently  taste  many  flavors,  but  if  you  will 
hold  your  nose  while  eating  the  onion,  or  eat  it  when  you 
are  suffering  from  a  very  bad  cold,  you  will  find  it  is  almost 
tasteless. 

The  sense  of  taste,  inasmuch  as  it  indirectly  regulates 
digestion  and  nutrition,  proves  to  be  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  the  special  senses.  Its  vital  influence  in  con- 
nection with  digestion  and  metabolism  was  fully  set  forth 
in  the  chapters  on  Digestion  and  Nutrition. 

5.  The  sense   of  touch.    The   sense   of  touch   is   located 
throughout  the  skin,  and  is  commonly  made  to  include  the 
special    senses    of    temperature,    weight,    location,    etc.     It 
depends   on   a  vast   network   of  nerves   which  end   in   the 
skin,  and  which  are  reflexly  connected  with  the  spinal  cen- 
tres  which   control   the   muscles.    This   sense   is   also  con- 
nected  with   certain   higher   centres   of   recognition   in   the 
brain. 

17 


258  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  function  of  the  special  senses  connected  with  touch 
is  to  report  constantly  to  the  higher  nerve  centres  the  con- 
dition of  the  body  with  respect  to  temperature,  danger,  con- 
tact, station,  etc. 

HOW    WE   THINK. 

The  brain  is  the  organ  of  thought  just  as  the  stomach  is 
an  organ  of  digestion.  It  handles  thought  just  as  the 
stomach  handles  food.  The  brain  probably  does  not  origi- 
nate thoughts  any  more  than  the  stomach  originates  food. 
The  stomach  digests  the  food  we  put  into  it.  The  brain 
digests  the  sensations,  impressions,  perceptions,  thoughts, 
etc.,  which  are  placed  in  it.  Ideas  are  mysteriously  hatched 
out  in  the  brain.  They  appear  sometimes  to  have  come 
from  without.  We  are  almost  startled  with  the  suddenness 
with  which  we  get  a  new  idea.  We  sometimes  describe  such 
an  experience  by  saying:  "An  idea  has  just  come  to  me," 
or  "  A  thought  has  struck  me." 

While  the  origin  of  thought  is  enwrapped  in  more  or 
less  mystery,  the  process  of  thinking  is  perhaps  better  under- 
stood, although  imperfectly.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  nerve  cells  contain  numerous  branches,  and  that  while 
no  two  nerve  cells  are  actually  connected,  they  ?.re  able  to 
communicate  freely  with  one  another  by  means  of  these 
various  branching  feelers.  For  instance,  you  try  to  recall 
the  name  of  a  friend,  and  you  cannot.  You  are  sure  you 
know  it;  you  were  about  to  speak  it,  but  it  went  from  you. 
In  the  meantime,  the  various  branches  of  numerous  nerves 
are  in  vibration,  feeling  out  anxiously  to  get  in  touch  with 
—  to  complete  the  circuit,  as  it  were  —  with  the  memory 
cell  which  holds  the  name  you  are  trying  to  recall.  Directly 
the  cell  is  found,  contact  is  made;  the  circuit  is  completed; 
and,  like  a  flash,  the  name  of  your  friend  arises  in  your 
consciousness  and  you  are  able  to  speak  it. 

At  night,  when  the  energy  granules  are  all  used  up  in 
the  nerve  cell,  and  it  is  unable  to  continue  the  activity  of  its 
many  processes,  its  little  branches  retract.  The  contact 
between  the  untold  millions  of  cells  in  the  brain  is  in  this 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE       259 

way  more  or  less  broken,  so  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  remain 
awake.  The  eyelids  grow  heavy,  the  centres  of  conscious- 
ness are  dulled,  the  muscles  relax,  the  head  begins  to  nod, 
and  you  are  all  but  asleep  before  you  know  it. 

THE   VALUE   OF   SLEEP 

S  t  / 

Periods    of    regular    physical    rest    and    sound    sleep    are  .      , 

essential   to   the   health   of   mind   and   body.    The   average 


individual  requires  about  eight  hours'  sleep.  Some  appear 
to  do  well  on  six  or  seven,  and  still  others  seem  to  require  TT*— 
nine.  The  human  body,  if  properly  nourished  and  regularly 
rested,  possesses  the  power  of  automatic  repair.  We  are 
not,  like  the  locomotive,  compelled  to  go  to  the  machine 
shop  once  a  year  for  repairs,  unless  we  have  so  treated  our 
bodies  that  they  have  not  been  able,  day  by  day,  to  repair 
the  damage  incident  to  the  wear  and  tear  of  ordinary  life. 
If  rest  by  day  and  sleep  by  night  have  been  insufficient,  or 
if  other  causes  affecting  the  nutrition  have  been  in  operation, 
it  is  likely  that  we  shall  be  forced  to  go  to  the  machine  shop 
(the  sanitarium  or  hospital)  now  and  then,  to  give  the  body 
a  chance  to  catch  up  and  carry  forward  its  work  of  repair. 
A  universal  indictment  should  be  brought  against  the 
American  people  in  that  they  eat  too  much  and  sleep  too 
little. 

THE   VALUE   OF   RECREATION 

Even  regular  sleep  is  seldom  sufficient  to  enable  the 
average  man  to  keep  in  good  physical  health.  The  nervous 
system  demands  occasional  periods  of  diversion  and  recre- 
ation. As  a  general  rule,  the  health  is  best  promoted  by 
recreation  which  brings  us  close  to  nature.  Go  to  the  for- 
ests ;  visit  the  running  streams  ;  tramp  over  the  fields  ;  gather 
the  wild  flowers;  cultivate  the  soil.  Many  of  the  modern 
methods  of  amusement  and  recreation  are  anything  but 
healthful,  as  they  enforce  the  indoor  life  and  frequently 
necessitate  the  breathing  of  impure  air  in  crowded  amuse- 
ment places,  while  the  exciting  scenes  that  are  presented 


260  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

are  in  no  way  calculated  to  rest  overwrought  nerves  and 
tired  bodies. 

Suitable  recreation  certainly  has  a  place  in  modern 
hygiene.  It  is  exceedingly  unwise  to  work  either  mind  or 
body  continually  without  rest  and  change.  The  ideal  rest- 
ing posture,  when  thoroughly  worn  out,  is  that  of  reclining, 
while  the  best  sleeping  posture  is  to  rest  the  body  upon  the 
right  side,  slightly  inclined  toward  the  face.  This  is  not 
only  the  position  of  least  embarrassment  to  the  heart  in  its 
action,  but  is  the  position  that  also  favors  the  stomach  in 
emptying  itself,  provided  food  is  still  present  in  that  organ 
at  the  time  of  retiring. 

The  weekly  Sabbath  day  should  be  made  as  nearly  as 
possible  one  of  real  rest.  Cease  from  mental  and  physical 
labor.  Even  with  one  day  of  rest  in  seven,  the  average 
American,  in  his  extraordinary  pursuit  of  riches,  fame,  and 
power,  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  a  half  holiday  in  the 
middle  of  the  week.  If  mind  and  body  are  robbed  of  their 
natural  weekly  period  of  rest,  it  will  be  found  that  Nature 
is  an  unerring  bookkeeper,  and  that  sooner  or  later  she  will 
demand  repayment  of  all  rest  denied  her,  which  demand 
you  will  be  compelled  to  meet  with  compound  interest  added. 

SOUND   SLEEP. 

Natural  sleep  on  the  part  of  healthy  man  is  perfectly 
sound;  entirely  free  from  dreams.  That  is,  upon  awaking 
in  the  morning,  the  individual  does  not  remember  having 
had  dreams.  It  is  highly  probable  that  all  of  us  dream 
more  or  less  throughout  the  night,  but  it  is  dreaming  of  a 
natural  order  and  not  the  sort  that  is  remembered  on  awak- 
ing. 

The  conditions  requisite  to  good,  sound  sleep  are  as 
follows : 

1.  Reasonably  good  health,  with   freedom   from   pain  or 
other  unpleasant  sensations. 

2.  Comparative  quiet,  but  it  is  remarkable  how   soundly 
some  city  dwellers  learn  to  sleep  in  spite  of  all  sorts  of 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE       261 

noises  and  other  disturbances.  They  seem  to  get  used  to 
these  night  sounds,  and  yet  they  probably  do  not  enjoy  the 
sound  sleep  of  the  country  citizen. 

3.  A  peaceful  mind.    A  tranquil  state  of  mind  during  the 
day  and  just  before  retiring,  greatly  favors  refreshing  sleep. 
While    a    reasonable    degree    of    mental    weariness    favors 
sleep,  we  should  remember  that  worry  is  the  greatest  dis- 
turber of  sleep  known'  to  modern  civilization.     Sleep  is  an 
antidote  for  work,  but  not  for  worry.    The  chronic  worrier, 
even  when  sleeping  eight  or  ten  hours,  awakens  unre  freshed 
and  fatigued  in  the  morning. 

4.  A     clear    conscience.    Condemnation     of    conscience, 
mental  uncertainty,  and  moral  warfare  affect  the  sleep  of 
a  large  number  of  people.    As  a  rule,  such  conditions  of 
mind  and  morals  affect  all  persons  except  those  who  have 
become  habituated  to  sin,  and  whose  consciences  probably 
offer  very  little  remonstrance  to  their  ways  of  vice. 

5.  A  non-toxic  blood-stream.    Those  whose  blood  is  filled 
with  the  poisons  of  tobacco,  alcohol,  and  other  substances, 
are  seldom  good  sleepers,  unless  under  the  influence  of  some 
drug.    Even    tea    and    coffee    cause    sleep    to    depart    from 
many. 

6.  Freedom  from  constipation  or  auto-intoxication.    The 
poisons  absorbed  from  the  bowel  render  the  blood  irritating 
to  brain  and  nerves,  and  are  responsible  for  much  sleepless- 
ness. 

7.  Normal    blood-pressure.    Those    suffering    from    high 
blood-pressure,    which    is    frequently   manifested    by   throb- 
bing of  the  head,  ringing  of  the  ears,  restlessness,  etc.,  often 
find  it  difficult  to  secure  sound,  refreshing  sleep.     A  warm 
bath,  or  other  means  of  lowering  the  blood-pressure,  will 
often  enable  such  sufferers  to  sleep  well.     The  neutral  bath 
is  even  better. 

8.  Fresh  air.    Fresh  air,  better  cold,  is  an  excellent  sleep- 
producer. 

9.  Good  digestion.    An  empty  stomach  undoubtedly  favors 
sound  sleep,  especially  on  the  part  of  some  nervous  dyspep- 


262  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

tics.  While  sleep  does  not  interfere  with  digestion,  digestion 
does  interfere  with  sleep  in  the  majority  of  people.  Late 
suppers  banish  sleep  in  the  case  of  many  nervous  people. 

10.  Weariness  without  fatigue.  Physical  weariness  (not 
fatigue)  favors  sleep.  Great  fatigue  may  be  a  cause  of  the 
most  obstinate  sleeplessness,  while  ordinary  physical  wear- 
iness, resulting  from  a  reasonable  amount  of  exercise,  greatly 
favors  sound  sleep. 

INSOMNIA. 

People  who  do  not  sleep  reasonably  well  are  suffering 
from  some  physical  disease,  or  else  they  are  victims  of  some 
unnatural  mental  tension  that  requires  to  be  looked  into  and 
immediately  remedied.  The  victims  of  sleeplessness  can 
make  no  greater  mistake  than  to  begin  the  use  of  sleep-pro- 
ducing drugs.  While  these  powerful  drugs,  which  relieve 
pain  and  produce  sleep,  are  of  great  value  in  the  hands  of 
the  wise  physician  during  times  of  great  suffering  or  grave 
disease,  they  are  a  snare  and  a  delusion  when  administered 
by  the  patient  himself  in  the  treatment  of  ordinary  insomnia. 

The  rational  treatment  of  insomnia  consists  in  surround- 
ing oneself  with  those  conditions  which  favor  sound  sleep; 
removing  from  one's  experience  all  disturbing  influences  of 
a  physical,  mental,  moral,  or  social  nature;  faithfully  prac- 
tising the  principles  of  hygienic  eating  and  drinking;  and 
persistently  using  the  neutral  bath  and  other  forms  of  treat- 
ment which  ordinarily  relieve  sleeplessness,  as  outlined  in 
the  chapter  on  Bathing. 

Some  people  sleep  ordinarily  well  at  night,  but  wake  up  in 
the  morning  tired;  sometimes  it  seems  as  if  they  could 
scarcely  get  out  of  bed.  Such  individuals  usually  have  a 
bad  taste  in  the  mouth,  a  dull  feeling  at  the  back  of  the 
head,  and  their  skin  is  usually  tinged  a  dingy  brown,  espe- 
cially under  the  eyes.  Such  persons  are  suffering  from 
chronic  auto-intoxication,  or  else  they  are  the  victims  of 
chronic  nervous  exhaustion,  a  condition  sometimes  called 
brain  fag,  or  near  nervous  prostration. 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE      263 

Those  suffering  either  from  nervous  exhaustion  or  auto- 
intoxication, or  both  (for  they  frequently  co-exist),  will  find 
relief  from  their  distressing  condition,  not  by  swallowing 
bottle  after  bottle  of  blood-purifiers,  but  rather  by  the  con- 
scientious, careful  practice  of  the  hygienic  life.  Proper  diet, 
water-drinking,  regular  bathing,  systematic  exercises,  cleans- 
ing of  the  bowel,  and  the  relief  of  constipation,  together  with 
proper  periods  of  rest  and  sleep,  will  enable  Nature, 
if  given  a  little  time,  thoroughly  to  recuperate  her  de- 
pleted powers  and  to  replenish  her  exhausted  energies. 
Such  patients  will  not  obtain  relief  by  the  most  rigorous  at- 
tention to  a  single  line  of  treatment,  such  as  diet  or  exercise 
or  baths;  it  will  require  the  combined  influence  of  all  the 
light  and  truth  of  modern  hygienic  living  to  uplift  such  suf- 
ferers and  enable  them  to  place  their  feet  firmly  upon  the 
highway  of  health. 

BRAIN    FOODS   AND   BRAIN    POISONS 

Fish,  apples,  celery,  and  various  other  foods  have  some- 
how gained  a  reputation  as  being  "  brain  foods  "  or  "  nerve 
foods."  There  is  little  or  no  foundation  to  these  theories  re- 
specting brain  foods.  All  foods  which  make  rich,  red  blood 
are  brain  foods,  and  are  nourishing  to  the  nervous  system. 
The  nerve  tissues  require  phosphorus  and  certain  other  salts 
which  are  to  be  found  in  a  variety  of  food  substances,  to- 
gether with  the  other  elements  required  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  brain  and  nerve. 

Nerves  are  among  the  first  tissues  in  the  body  to  suffer 
from  the  influence  of  poisoning.  All  the  narcotics  are  I 
poisonous  to  the  nerves,  including  alcohol,  morphine,  cocaine, 
tobacco,  tea,  and  coffee.  The  nerves  are  also  sorely  crippled 
by  various  poisons  which  are  generated  within  the  body, 
if  they  are  allowed  to  accumulate  in  the  blood-stream  —  such 
poisons  as  result  from  chronic  constipation,  intestinal  fer- 
mentation, putrefaction,  etc.  These  are  all  poisonous  to  the 
nerves,  and  when  the  blood  is  saturated  with  them  the  brain 
and  nervous  system  are  affected,  stupefied,  and  unable  to  do  -f 
a  normal  amount  of  work. 


264  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 


INSTINCT 

Man  and  animals  possess  both  reason  and  instinct,  the 
man  possessing  more  reason,  while  in  the  animal,  instinct 
predominates  and  reason  is  present  in  but  small  degree. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  animals  reason.  A  careful 
study  of  the  ant  species  alone  is  sufficient  to  convince  the 
most  sceptical  that  these  creatures  possess  some  sort  of 
reasoning  power.  They  conduct  raiding  expeditions  under 
the  direction  of  leaders;  they  build  their  houses  with 
provision  for  raising  fungi  for  winter  nourishment;  they 
capture  weaker  tribes  and  enslave  them,  and  after  the 
fashion  of  luxurious  human  beings,  they  live  in  idleness 
while  their  captured  brothers  toil  for  them;  they  are  wise 
enough  to  feed  and  care  for  the  ant-cow,  from  which  they 
milk  a  substance  resembling  honey.  Domestic  animals  will 
learn  to  open  doors  and  unlatch  gates  by  observing  their 
masters  perform  these  acts.  Monkeys  have  been  taught  to 
pick  cotton,  and  chimpanzees  to  bake  bread.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  recent  experiments  go  a  great  way  toward 
proving  that  animals  perform  many  of  their  wonderful  feats 
from  "  habit "  training  and  not  from  reasoning. 

Man  has  had  his  instincts  blunted.  He  must,  in  his  pres- 
ent state,  be  guided  largely  by  reason,  in  all  physical  habits 
and  in  matters  pertaining  to  health  and  disease;  neverthe- 
less, many  of  our  instincts  are  still  inherent,  such  as  thirst, 
hunger,  sleep,  etc.  The  sagacity  and  acumen  which  char- 
acterize the  homing  pigeon,  the  shepherd  dog,  the  blood- 
hound, and  various  other  animals,  is  largely  wanting  in  the 
human  species. 

After  all,  the  radical  difference  between  the  mind  of  man 
and  that  of  the  animal  may  be  summed  up  by  saying  that 
man  is  a  moral  creature.  Animals  never  pray;  neither  do 
they  worship.  It  is  instinctive  with  men  to  worship  a  God 
and  to  pray.  The  most  ignorant  and  barbarous  of  people 
have  some  form  of  religion. 


REST  AND  SLEEP,  OR  THE  RENEWED  LIFE      265 


THE    MISSION    OF   PAIN 

Pain  is  the  expression  of  the  displeasure  of  the  nervous 
system.  We  have  spoken  of  it  elsewhere  as  "  the  physical 
conscience,"  whose  design  is  to  warn  us  of  imminent  danger 
or  impending  doom.  Pain  is  not  sent  as  a  punishment.  It 
comes  as  a  natural  consequence  of  irritation  or  poisoning  of 
the  nerves  and  brain.  Pain  should  be  looked  upon  as  a 
warning  signal,  designed  to  lead  us  away  from  the  paths  of 
disease  and  danger.  Its  voice  should  be  heeded.  It  is  not 
enough  to  resort  to  some  pain-killer  or  powerful  nerve  poison 
which  serves  quickly  to  silence  the  friendly  voice  of  pain, 
but  in  no  wise  works  to  remove  its  cause.  It  is  true  that 
pain  must  be  relieved  when  it  is  of  great  severity  or  long 
continued,  but  there  are  many  simple  measures,  such  as  the 
application  of  heat,  pressure,  etc.,  which  are  often  perfectly 
successful  in  the  relief  of  pain,  and  which  will  enable  us 
to  avoid  the  unpleasant  and  disastrous  results  that  attend 
the  use  of  the  pain-relieving  drugs,  such  as  cocaine  and 
morphine. 

HEREDITY   AND   PERSONALITY 

The  nervous  system  is  greatly  concerned  with  the  main- 
tenance of  personality.  The  material  body  is  constantly 
changing.  The  average  man  eats  his  own  weight  of  solid 
food  every  month.  Some  parts  of  the  body  are  changing 
every  few  hours,  others  are  changing  every  week  or  every 
month,  but  the  nervous  system  undergoes  the  least  change; 
and  this  is  why  nerves  are  so  slow  of  regeneration  when 
they  have  been  injured  by  accidents,  paralysis,  or  surgical 
operations.  Other  tissues  will  repair  themselves  in  a  few 
days,  but  injured  nerves  often  consume  years  in  their 
recovery. 

The  stability  and  permanency  of  the  nervous  system  con- 
tribute much  to  establish  the  personality  of  its  owner. 
Matter  may  change,  but  the  same  mind  continues  to  direct 
the  new  matter  along  the  same  old  lines. 


266  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Heredity,  that  mysterious  influence  by  which  the  person- 
ality and  traits  of  the  parents  are  handed  down  to  the 
children,  is  no  doubt  effected  in  a  measure  through  the 
means  of  the  nervous  system.  Children  sometimes  partake 
more  largely  of  the  character  of  one  parent,  or  may  equally 
resemble  both  parents,  or  may  even  take  after  a  remote 
ancestor,  oftentimes  skipping  one  generation. 

It  is  a  mistaken  notion  to  believe  that  disease  is  inherited. 
Outside  of  that  loathsome  disease,  syphilis,  no  disease  is 
transmitted  from  parent  to  child.  Children  do  not  inherit 
tuberculosis  or  any  other  disease,  with  the  exception  above 
noted.  Children  do  inherit  the  constitutional  weaknesses 
and  the  disease-tendencies  of  their  parents.  Although  the 
child  does  not  inherit  tuberculosis  from  his  parents,  he  may 
inherit  both  weak  lungs  and  a  low  vital  resistance,  and  there- 
fore be  predisposed  to  contract  tuberculosis  when  he  is  ex- 
posed to  it,  as  he  surely  will  be  soon  after  birth. 

By  proper  attention  to  the  laws  of  hygiene,  the  assiduous 
cultivation  of  health,  the  conscientious  living  up  to  the  laws 
of  one's  being,  the  majority  of  people  who  have  inherited 
constitutional  weaknesses  and  tendencies  to  certain  diseases, 
can  entirely  rise  above  their  physical  surroundings  and  de- 
velop a  constitution  far  superior  to  that  of  their  parents  — 
they  can  hope  finally  to  be  free  from  well-nigh  every  hered- 
itary taint  and  weakness. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE 

THE  ATMOSPHERE. —  THE  BAROMETER. —  COMPOSITION  OF  AIR. — 
MOUNTAIN  SICKNESS. —  HUMIDITY. —  HOUSE  VENTILATION. — 
STOVE  VENTILATION. —  AlR  CHANGE. —  THE  CHIMNEY. —  AlR 
FLUSHING. —  HOUSE  TEMPERATURE. —  INLETS  AND  OUTLETS. — 
POISONOUS  GASES. —  HEALTH  AND  THE  ATMOSPHERE. —  OXYGEN 
THE  VITAL  FUEL. —  BEDROOM  CLIMATE. —  INDUSTRIAL  VENTILA- 
TION.—  SCHOOL  VENTILATION. —  VENTILATION  OF  PUBLIC  BUILD- 
INGS. 


M 


AN  lives  at  the  bottom  of  a  vast  ocean  of  air.    This 
atmospheric  sea  is  held  close  to  the  surface  of  the 
earth  by  the  force  of  gravity. 

THE   ATMOSPHERE 


This  layer  of  air  probably  extends  upward  from  one  hun- 
dred to  two  hundred  miles.  The  density  decreases  as  we 
ascend.  The  pressure  of  this  ocean  of  air  upon  the  body  is 
borne  without  inconvenience,  because  it  is  equal  in  all  di- 
rections. 

The  barometer.  Air  pressure  is  measured  by  an  instru- 
ment called  the  barometer,  a  glass  tube  thirty-six  inches 
long,  sealed  at  the  upper  end,  bent  at  the  lower  end  so  as  to 
present  a  long  arm  about  thirty  inches,  which  is  filled 
with  mercury.  This  liquid  metal  descends  into  the  short 
arm  until  the  longer  column  of  mercury  stands  about  thirty 
inches  high  (760  millimetres  at  sea  level)  ;  therefore  the 
weight  of  this  column  of  mercury  thirty  inches  high  must 
be  equal  to  the  weight  of  a  column  of  air  of  the  same 
diameter  as  high  as  the  atmosphere  is  deep.  The  weight 
of  the  thirty-inch  column  of  mercury  one  inch  square 

267 


268  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

is  fifteen  pounds.  Therefore,  atmospheric  pressure  at  the 
sea  level  is  fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

The  heavier  the  air,  the  higher  will  the  long  arm  of  the 
mercury  rise,  and  vice  versa.  For  if  the  air  presses  down 
on  the  short  arm  of  the  mercury,  the  liquid  metal  must  rise 
just  so  much  in  the  long  arm. 

In  foggy  weather  the  barometer  is  low,  because  at  such 
times  the  atmosphere  is  lighter  and  therefore  does  not  force 
the  mercury  up.  Notwithstanding  the  dense  appearance  of 
the  atmosphere  on  misty  mornings,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  fog,  being  watery  vapor,  is  much  lighter  than  the 
atmosphere,  and  this  explains  the  low  barometer  just  before 
an  approaching  storm,  when  there  is  much  moisture  in  the 
air. 

Hygrometers  are  instruments  for  measuring  the  amount 
of  moisture  in  the  air. 

Ballons  rise  in  the  air  because  they  contain  either  heated 
atmosphere  or  other  gases  lighter  than  air.  Air  may  be 
compressed  by  means  of  the  condensing-pump,  or  it  may  be 
taken  out  of  any  cavity  by  the  air-pump,  producing  a 
vacuum  more  or  less  complete. 

Composition  of  air.  .While  air  is  invisible,  it  neverthe- 
less has  substance.  One  cubic  foot  weighs  564  grains. 
Analysis  of  pure  air  gives  the  following: 

Nitrogen  78.35  parts. 

Oxygen 20.77      " 

Watery  vapor •. 0.85      " 

Carbon  dioxid   (CO*)    0.03      " 


loo.oo  parts. 

The  presence  of  CO2  gas  in  expired  air  is  well  shown  by 
exhaling  through  a  tube  into  a  glass  of  clear  filtered  lime 
water,  which  quickly  becomes  turbid,  indicating  the  presence 
of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

The  atmosphere  is  not  a  chemical  compound.  It  is  prac- 
tically four-fifths  nitrogen  and  one-fifth  oxygen.  These 
gases  are  simply  mixed  together,  constituting  what  is  known 


FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE  269 

as  a  mechanical  mixture.  The  purpose  of  the  nitrogen 
seems  to  be  that  of  a  "  filler  "  so  far  as  animal  respiration  is 
concerned;  that  is,  to  dilute  the  oxygen  down  to  about 
twenty  per  cent,  the  strength  just  suited  to  animal  breathing. 

Ozone,  that  peculiar,  refreshing  substance  which  is  smelled 
in  the  air  after  a  thunderstorm,  is  nothing  more  or  less 
than  free  oxygen  itself  —  atoms  of  oxygen  which  have  been 
separated  from  one  another  by  means  of  electrical  dis- 
charges. It  is  very  wholesome  and  highly  destructive  to  all 
forms  of  germ  life. 

Mountain  sickness.  In  ascending  mountains,  as  the  air 
pressure  decreases,  dizziness  may  be  observed  as  the  resu't 
of  blood  accumulating  in  the  skin,  thereby  decreasing  the 
amount  of  blood  in  the  brain.  Hemorrhage  from  the  nose 
results  from  the  same  decreased  pressure  in  the  nostril,  al- 
lowing the  thin  capillaries  to  rupture.  Roaring  in  the  ears 
is  due  to  decrease  of  atmospheric  pressure  in  the  external 
ear,  causing  a  congestion  of  blood  in  the  internal  ear. 
The  Eustachian  tubes  going  from  the  pharynx  to  the 
internal  ear,  are  intended  to  regulate  air  pressure  in  the  ear 
at  all  times.  The  reader  may  have  noticed  in  ascending  or 
descending  in  elevators  in  extremely  high  buildings,  just  be- 
fore reaching  the  top  or  the  bottom  of  a  very  quick  trip,  a 
sensation  in  the  ears  as  if  air  were  escaping,  due  to  the  in- 
flation or  deflation  of  the  Eustachian  tube  from  change  in 
atmospheric  pressure. 

Mountain  sickness,  accompanied  by  vomiting,  etc.,  is 
probably  due  to  a  deficiency  of  oxygen,  owing  to  the  light- 
ness of  the  atmosphere. 

Humidity.  As  affecting  health  and  disease,  the  matter  of 
humidity,  the  amount  of  moisture  in  the  air,  is  of  equal  im- 
portance with  the  heat  during  a  hot  spell  in  the  summer. 
More  deaths  take  place  at  times  when  the  humidity  is 
greatest. 

Increase  in  the  humidity  also  lessens  the  evaporation  of 
water  from  the  skin,  thereby  decreasing  elimination.  A 
moist,  cold  atmosphere  is  far  more  distressing  than  cold, 
dry  air.  Twenty  degrees  below  zero  in  the  far  North 


270  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

where  the  air  is  dry,  does  not  affect  one  as  much  as  a  tem- 
perature above  zero  in  a  lake  region  like  Chicago,  where  the 
cold  air  contains  more  or  less  moisture. 

HOUSE  VENTILATION 

The  outdoor  life  insures  the  blessings  of  the  vitalizing 
influence  of  sunlight  and  the  stimulation  of  pure,  refresh- 
ing air.  The  present  warfare  against  impure  foods  is  com- 
mendable, but  it  is  equally  important  that  we  should  begin 
a  crusade  against  impure  air,  for  practically  all  our  public 
buildings  and  the  majority  of  our  modern  mansions,  as  well 
as  our  humble  cottages,  are  utterly  devoid  of  any  provision 
whatever  for  ventilation.  The  crying  need  of  the  hour  is 
for  a  school  of  architecture  competent  to  design  our  dwell- 
ings with  a  view  to  adequate  and  scientific  ventilation  of 
every  room  during  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night. 

In  the  study  of  ventilation  it  must  be  remembered  that 
cold,  dry  air  is  the  heaviest,  and  that  warm,  moist  air  is  the 
lightest.  When  the  air  in  a  room  is  warmed,  it  expands 
and  therefore  rises;  colder  and  consequently  heavier  masses 
of  air  rush  in  to  take  its  place.  This  illustrates  the  blowing 
of  the  winds  over  vast  continents,  and  explains  the  crea- 
tion of  unpleasant  drafts  in  our  efforts  at  proper  ventilation. 

Stove  ventilation.  The  ventilation  of  a  house  heated  by 
an  ordinary  stove,  occurs  about  as  follows:  The  warm  air 
ascends  the  chimney,  its  place  being  taken  by  cold  air  en- 
tering through  doors  and  windows.  The  staircase,  if  there 
be  one,  also  serves  as  a  sort  of  ventilating  shaft,  sucking  up 
from  every  available  source,  the  warm  air,  causing  the  in- 
rush of  the  pure,  cold  air  from  every  possible  opening  or 
crevice.  It  is  this  arrangement  that  causes  an  upward  suc- 
tion of  basement  gases  —  ground  air.  For  this  reason  all 
basement  floors  should  be  covered  with  concrete  or  asphalt. 
The  presence  of  human  beings  or  the  burning  of  lights  in 
the  room  also  heats  the  air  and  causes  it  to  rise  to  the  top 
of  the  room. 

Air  change.    The  ideal  system  for  winter  ventilation  is 


FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE  271 

to  warm  the  cold  air  before  or  as  it  is  being  taken  into  the 
room.  Such  a  system  is  fairly  exemplified  in  the  modern 
hot  air  furnace,  when  it  is  provided  with  a  liberal  intake  for 
outside  air. 

The  air  of  ordinary  living  rooms  should  be  changed  about 
four  times  per  hour,  while  the  air  of  crowded  business  and 
manufacturing  establishments  should  be  changed  six  or  eight 
times  an  hour. 

Not  less  than  three  thousand  cubic  feet  of  air  per  hour 
must  be  provided  for  living  rooms,  offices,  etc.,  for  each  per- 
son. For  instance,  a  small  room  measuring  ten  feet  every 
way  and  containing  one  thousand  cubic  feet  of  air,  would  be 
properly  ventilated  for  one  person  if  the  air  were  changed 
every  twenty  minutes,  three  times  an  hour.  If  one  or  two 
gas  burners  were  used  in  this  room,  the  air  would  have  to 
be  changed  not  less  than  six  times  an  hour.  The  art  of 
ventilation  is  the  process  of  making  these  air  changes  with- 
out producing  unpleasant  drafts. 

The  lungs  throw  off  three  thousand  gallons  (one  hundred 
barrels)  of  poison  air  a  day,  every  pint  of  which  will  spoil 
a  whole  barrel  of  pure  air  for  breathing  purposes ;  this,  with 
the  contamination  of  skin  exhalations,  makes  it  necessary 
to  provide  each  person  with  about  750,000  barrels  of  fresh 
air  every  twenty-four  hours.  Expressed  otherwise :  one 
and  one-fourth  cubic  inches  of  oxygen  is  required  with  each 
breath;  about  one  cubic  inch  of  carbon  dioxid  (CO2)  with 
other  poisonous  gases  is  thrown  out  from  the  lungs  with 
each  breath;  this  pollutes  about  three  cubic  feet  of  air,  and 
with  twenty  breaths  a  minute  we  have  each  person  poison- 
ing about  sixty  cubic  feet  of  air  a  minute  or  one  cubic 
foot  of  air  a  second.  This  furnishes  a  practical  basis  for  all 
systems  of  ventilation. 

The  difficulty  with  so  many  systems  of  ventilation  is  that 
the  intakes  and  outlets  work  only  during  one  season  of  the 
year.  That  is,  while  they  may  work  in  the  summer,  the 
starting  of  the  autumn  fires  entirely  reverses  the  process, 
converting  inlets  into  outlets,  etc. 

The  chimney.     In  ordinary  dwellings,  it  is  better  to  de- 


272  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

pend  upon  the  chimney  as  the  outlet.  Even  in  the  absence 
-of  a  fire,  the  chimney  would  be  a  perfect  ventilator,  were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that  it  is  located  usually  on  the  outside  of 
the  house  and  therefore  exposed  to  the  chilling  effects  of 
cold  winds.  With  the  chimney  in  the  centre  of  the  dwell- 
ing, it  would  constitute  the  ideal  exhaust  channel  for  proper 
ventilation. 

Air  flushing.  Laying  aside  all  the  details  of  inlets  and 
outlets,  etc.,  the  important  thing  in  the  ventilation  of  the  or- 
dinary dwelling  is  to  have  the  doors  and  windows  opened 
several  times  each  day,  to  change  the  air  completely;  then 
with  provision  for  proper  heating  and  allowing  a  reasonable 
amount  of  air  to  come  in  about  the  doors  and  windows,  you 
will  have  fairly  good  ventilation  for  the  average  house. 

HOUSE   TEMPERATURE. 

It  will  be  found  best  to  keep  the  atmosphere  of  dwellings 
ranging  from  66°  to  70°.  If  the  temperature  is  allowed  to 
go  much  above  70°,  insensible  perspiration  is  produced  upon 
the  skin,  the  evaporation  of  which  produces  sensations  of 
chilliness,  and  the  room  will  not  feel  warm  until  the  tem- 
perature is  run  up  to  80°  or  above.  Had  the  temperature 
been  kept  down  to  about  70°,  much  of  this  unconscious  sweat- 
ing and  consequent  skin-chilling  would  have  been  avoided, 
and  the  temperature  of  the  room  would  have  been  in  every 
way  satisfactory.  Recent  experiments  in  France  go  to  show 
that  certain  dangerous  poisons  are  generated  in  the  expired 
air  when  the  room  temperature  is  above  68°  F.  These 
deleterious  substances  are  not  developed  in  an  atmosphere 
of  68°  or  below- 

The  greatest  error  in  connection  with  the  modern  hot  air 
furnace  is  in  placing  its  intake  in  some  hallway  inside  of  the 
house.  While  this  saves  fuel,  it  is  a  great  cause  of  disease, 
and  it  would  be  far  better  to  spend  a  little  more  money  in 
warming  up  fresh,  pure  air  supplied  to  the  furnace  from  an 
outdoor  shaft. 

Smoky  chimneys  are  due  to  one  or  a  number  of  the  fol- 
lowing causes:  too  many  stoves  on  a  small  chimney;  ob- 


FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE          273 

struction  from  soot;  too  many  joints  in  the  stovepipe;  the 
chimney  outlet  too  close  to  other  buildings;  or  lack  of  cold 
air  inlets  to  the  room,  which  would  enable  the  stove  to  set 
up  a  draft  in  the  chimney. 

INLETS   AND   OUTLETS. 

The  plan  most  largely  successful  is  to  have  the  fresh  air 
inlet  near  the  top  of  the  room  and  the  foul  air  outlet  near 
the  bottom,  both  on  the  same  side  of  the  room.  Under  this 
arrangement,  the  ideal  system  would  be  either  a  stove  or  an 
open  fireplace  which  would  serve  as  the  foul  air  outlet.  (See 
F'gs.  33-38.) 

The  foul  air  outlet  should  always  be  located  near  the  floor 
and  connected  with  either  the  chimney  or  a  ventilating  shaft. 
There  should  be  an  opening  2X12  inches  for  each  person  to 
be  supplied  with  air.  This  should  be  free  opening  in  the 
outlets ;  if  grating  is  used,  the  opening  must  be  almost  twice 
as  large. 

In  case  of  furnace  heat  or  other  methods  where  the  air  is 
warmed  before  entering  the  room,  the  outlet  must  always  be 
located  at  the  bottom  of  the  room,  but  if  the  air  is  admitted 
cold,  the  outlet  may  be  placed  a  little  above  the  floor  —  say 
about  four  feet. 

POISONOUS   GASES. 

While  CO2  is  the  chief  impurity  of  foul  air,  it  is  not  the 
most  dangerous.  There  are  other  gases  from  the  animal 
body  which  are  really  the  poisonous  substances,  but  they  are 
hard  to  detect  —  their  quantity  is  small.  The  presence  and 
amount  of  CO2  serves  as  a  reliable  guide  to  the  detection  of 
these  other  poisonous  gases.  There  are  other  impurities  in 
the  air  such  as  coal  gas,  marsh  gas,  ammonia  gas,  together 
with  various  forms  of  dust  and  dirt,  also  animal  and  veg- 
etable organisms. 

The  standard  of  purity  requires  that  not  more  than  four 
parts  of  CO2  should  be  present  in  ten  thousand  parts  of  air. 

18 


Line. 


FigJS 

Air  Laming  in  an  One  Side  and  Going  Dutnn  the 
Other  Side 


Breathing   Line 


__J 

fy 


F,g36 

Air  Laming-  in  an  One  Side,  and  Going  Out  at  the 
Bottom  on  the.  Opposite  Side 


Breaffjing  Line 

\ 


Air  admitted  at  the  Bottom  of  Roam  and  Discharged 
at  the  Bottom  on  Opposite  Side 


. 

Correct  Method:  Air  Comes  in  Near  Tap  and  GOES 
Out  Near  the  Bottom  on  the  Sams  5ide 


FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE.  OUTDOOR  LIFE          275 

BEDROOM    CLIMATE 

Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  ventilation  of  the 
bedroom,  as  the  average  individual  spends  one-third  of  his 
life  in  bed.  If  you  are  so  unfortunately  situated  as  to  be 
unable  to  live  and  work  out  of  doors,  make  up  your  mind 
that  from  now  on  you  will  fully  enjoy  the  inestimable  bless- 
ing of  outdoor  sleeping.  Open  the  windows  and  freely  enjoy 
the  life-giving  exhilaration  of  fresh  air  while  you  rest  at 
night.  Drafts  are  not  in  themselves  dangerous;  they  are 
hurtful  only  to  those  who  are  very  weak  and  debilitated,  or 
when  the  person  is  overheated  and  the  skin  perspiring. 

The  night  air  is  just  as  pure,  perhaps  more  pure  than  day 
air.  The  polluted  atmosphere  of  the  average  bedroom  is  in 
one  way  or  another  responsible  for  many  modern  maladies. 
Who  does  not  shudder  in  horror  as  he  contemplates  the  ter- 
rible stale  and  refrigerated  air  of  the  damp  and  unventi- 
lated  spare  bedroom?  A  single  night  spent  in  such  human 
death-traps  has  undoubtedly  prepared  the  way  for  pneu- 
monia and  other  serious  infections. 

The  advent  of  the  outdoor  bedroom,  the  sleeping  tent, 
sleeping  porch,  the  window  tent,  etc.,  are  all  to  be  hailed  with 
joy.  They  are  tokens  of  a  mighty  awakening  —  the  arousal 
of  the  hygienic  conscience  of  the  American  people  to  a  sense 
of  appreciation  of  that  free  and  universal  boon  —  fresh  air. 

INDUSTRIAL  VENTILATION. 

This  is  a  mechanical  age,  and  our  great  manufacturing 
establishments  teem  with  evidences  of  the  ingenuity  and 
fertility  of  the  human  brain  in  devising  and  producing  labor- 
saving  machinery.  But  while  one  man  can  now  do  the  work 
of  ten,  by  means  of  machinery  acting  with  perfect  precision 
and  almost  human  intelligence,  yet  not  infrequently  the 
artisan  of  the  twentieth  century  still  breathes  similarly  pol- 
luted air  and  works  in  the  same  atrociously  ventilated  shop 
that  his  less  fortunate  brother  of  a  century  ago  occupied. 


276  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

We  are  in  need  of  a  national  uprising,  a  real  awakening  with 
reference  to  the  importance  of  the  adequate  ventilation  of 
factories,  work-shops,  and  mercantile  establishments.  And 
not  until  this  hygienic  revival  sweeps  over  the  land,  shall 
we  see  a  material  lessening  in  the  death  rate  from  pneumonia 
and  tuberculosis  —  the  messengers  of  Death  which  now 
hover  over  our  people,  jeopardizing  the  life  and  health  of  all 
who  labor  indoors. 

SCHOOL   VENTILATION. 

The  indictment  against  foul  air  and  improper  ventilation 
must  be  drawn  to  cover  even  the  schoolroom,  where  the  men 
and  women  of  the  rising  generation  —  the  boys  and  girls  of 
to-day  —  are  compelled  to  sit  -for  hours  in  seats  which  are 
frequently  unsuited  to  their  little  forms,  predisposing  to 
curvature  of  the  spine,  flat  chests,  etc.  Many  schoolrooms 
are  poorly  or  improperly  lighted,  producing  eye-strain  and 
other  diseases  of  sight. 

The  supreme  curse  of  our  modern  education  is  to  be  found 
in  the  pernicious  ventilation,  or  the  absence  of  any  ventila- 
tion whatever,  in  the  majority  of  schoolrooms.  Pale-faced, 
anaemic-skinned,  gaunt,  hollow-eyed  pupils  are  the  product, 
not  merely  of  impoverished  feeding  at  home  or  the  heredi- 
tary legacy  of  the  city  slums,  but  also  of  the  vitiated,  foul, 
and  polluted  atmosphere  of  our  modern  schoolrooms.  No 
other  cause  except  that  of  sheer  starvation  could  exert  such 
a  terribly  stunting  influence  upon  the  rising  generation  as 
that  of  compelling  them  to  breathe  impure  air  daily  during 
the  regular  periods  of  school  life.  This,  coupled  with  in- 
sufficient ventilation  of  the  bedroom  during  sleeping  hours, 
is  to  be  charged  with  much  of  the  stunting,  deteriorating 
effects  observed  in  the  modern  school  child  of  the  great  city, 
in  place  of  wholly  attributing  these  physical  degenerations  to 
underfeeding,  overwork,  overstudy,  etc. 

VENTILATION  OF  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS 

And  inasmuch  as  our  warfare  against  foul  air  is  in  behalf 
of  human  health  and  happiness,  we  cannot  dismiss  the  sub- 


FRESH  AIR,  OR  THE  OUTDOOR  LIFE          277 

ject  without  calling  attention  to  the  almost  universal  ab- 
sence of  any  system  whatever  for  ventilating  churches, 
lecture  halls,  and  other  places  of  public  assembly.  We  make 
it  our  custom,  during  the  winter  season,  to  advise  our 
patients  who  are  predisposed  to  bronchitis  and  penumonia, 
or  those  who  may  have  tubercular  tendencies,  to  stay  away 
from  churches,  theatres,  and  other  places  of  public  congre- 
gation, because  of  the  great  risk  they  run  in  going  to  such 
places  where  the  air  is  overheated  and  foul  with  the  ex- 
halations of  hundreds  of  people,  many  of  whom  are  more  or 
less  affected  with  various  pulmonary  and  other  diseases. 

The  public  buildings  of  the  future  should  be  erected  with 
a  view  to  proper  ventilation.  The  churches  and  assembly 
halls  of  the  present  should  be  overhauled  and  adequately 
ventilated,  that  it  may  be  impossible  to  repeat  the  experience 
of  the  last  century,  when  it  was  recorded  that  the  air  be- 
came so  foul  in  the  churches  during  midwinter  revivals  that 
at  a  late  hour  the  candles  would  go  out,  because  of  the  ex- 
haustion of  oxygen  —  the  mourners  and  worshippers  re- 
garding this  as  an  evidence  of  God's  displeasure  with  sin- 
ners; and  indeed  it  was  such  an  evidence,  a  convincing  evi- 
dence of  the  folly  of  trying  to  feed  the  fires  of  soul  and  body 
in  an  atmosphere  so  vitiated  and  barren  that  a  single  candle 
could  not  maintain  its  flickering  breath. 

Suppose  we  have  an  audience  room  60X40X15  feet,  af- 
fording a  cubic  capacity  of  thirty-six  thousand  feet.  In  such 
a  room  let  us  assemble  an  audience  of  moderate  size  —  say 
five  hundred.  Now  recall  that  each  person  requires  one 
cubic  foot  of  fresh  air  each  second.  If  all  doors  and  win- 
dows are  tightly  closed,  it  will  require  but  seventy-two  sec- 
onds for  five  hundred  people  to  poison  all  the  air  of  this 
hall  by  breath  pollution.  An  audience  of  a  thousand  will 
contaminate  the  air  in  one-half  this  time,  or  in  little  more 
than  half  a  minute.  What  must  be  the  condition  of  the  air 
in  such  a  room  when  the  audience  has  remained  inside  one 
to  two  hours  without  proper  ventilation? 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY 

GENERAL  CAUSES  OF  WORRY. —  DESIRE  FOR  HAPPINESS. —  TEMPERA- 
MENTAL WORRY. —  SCIENCE  WORRY. —  WEATHER  WORRY. —  TIMID- 
ITY WORRY. —  CHRONIC  DISSATISFACTION. —  PERVERTED  PROVERBS. — 
MENTAL  CAUSES  OF  WORRY. —  THE  WORRY  CIRCLE. —  WORK  -vs. 
RUST. —  SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. —  MENTAL  IDLENESS. —  FRETTING. — 
SPECIAL  FEARS,  KOODOOS,  ETC. —  OBSESSION. —  UNREAL  TROUBLES. 

—  WORRY  DISEASES. —  MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  CAUSES  OF  WORRY. 

—  RELIGIOUS      UNCERTAINTY. —  MISGUIDED      ZEAL. —  PHYSICAL 
CAUSES  OF  WORRY. —  MlND  DISEASES. —  CHILDISH  WORRIES. —  OLD 
AGE  WORRY. —  THE  WORRY  HABIT. —  FADS  AND  DELUSIONS. —  RE- 
SULTS OF  WORRY. —  SOCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  CAUSES  OF  WORRY. — 
HOUSEHOLD  PROBLEMS. —  SOCIETY  WORRY. —  LABOR-SAVING  INVEN- 
TIONS.—  LABOR  PROBLEMS. 

IN  all  ages  the  human  race  has  suffered  from  the  evil  in- 
fluences of  worry,  grief,  and  fear;  but  it  has  fallen  to 
the  lot  of  our  present-day  civilization,  with  its  intensity  and 
strenuousness,  to  suffer  in  unusual  degree,  the  direful  conse- 
quences of  mental  strain  and  worry. 

Some  one  has  denned  worry  as  a  "  spasm  of  the  atten- 
tion." It  is  a  sort  of  one-sided  mental  action.  Lt  might  be 
called  "  chronic  fear."  Any  single  fear  or  group  of  fears, 
long  entertained  in  the  mind,  crystallize  themselves  into  defi- 
nite worry,  which  continually  harasses  the  soul  and  ever- 
lastingly preys  upon  the  mind. 

GENERAL   CAUSES   OF   WORRY 

The  uncertainties  and  vicissitudes  of  life  upon  our  planet 
are  such  as  to  make  more  or  less  worry  inevitable.  A  cer- 
tain degree  of  mild  worry  or  mental  anxiety,  it  would  seem, 
is  ever  attached  to  the  living  state,  and  only  death  can  bring 

278 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  279 

a  permanent  relief  from  the  liability  of  fear  and  worry.  The 
fact  that  man  is  the  only  animal  that  makes  himself  ridic- 
ulous by  worrying,  is  due  to  the  superiority  of  his  mind  over 
that  of  the  lower  animals.  The  animals  are  not  given  to 
looking  backward  and,  as  a  rule,  they  do  not  look  very  far 
into  the  future.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mind  of  man  sweeps 
back  over  the  past  and  from  its  history,  as  well  as  from  the 
perplexing  incidents  of  the  present,  forms  those  conclusions 
which  cause  him  to  look  with  fear  and  foreboding  into  the 
future.  Shakespeare  has  written :  "  Man  is  made  with  such 
large  discourse,  looking  before  and  after." 

Desire  for  happiness.  Whatever  the  immediate  cause  of 
worry,  a  solicitude  for  our  general  welfare  and  happiness 
or  that  of  our  loved  ones,  must  be  recognized  as  the  real 
cause  of  all  worry.  We  worry  lest  we  may  lose  or  fail  to 
obtain  those  things  which  will  make  us  or  our  friends  happy. 
The  desire  for  happiness,  then,  is  the  fundamental  cause  of 
worry,  but  it  should  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  under  no 
circumstances  can  worry  ever  contribute  to  our  happiness; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  never  fails  to  detract  from  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life,  and  frequently  stores  up  for  the  future  that 
which  will  effectually  destroy  the  very  happiness  for  the 
love  of  which  we  are  wont  to  worry. 

Temperamental  worry.  Certain  causes  of  worry  may  be 
said  to  be  temperamental,  embracing  the  cases  of  those 
who  worry  because  they  are  criticised  either  justly  or  un- 
justly, or  because  they  are  neglected  or  slighted  by  their 
friends;  still  others  are  depressed  and  dejected  because  they 
feel  they  are  not  appreciated  by  their  associates;  others  fret 
and  worry  because  they  resent  some  supposed  or  real  in- 
jury or  injustice  that  has  been  done  them.  Worry  of  this 
kind  frequently  gives  rise  to  outbursts  of  temper  and  mani- 
festations of  actual  anger,  which  are  exceedingly  injurious 
to  the  health  of  the  nervous,  digestive,  and  circulatory  sys- 
tems. 

Science  worry.  Another  class  of  mental  sufferers  might 
be  classified  as  "  scientific  worriers."  They  are  more  or  less 


280  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

bothered  over  some  great  problem  of  the  universe  —  for 
fear  the  sun  will  sometime  burn  out;  while  others  fear  a 
collision  of  our  earth  with  some  stray  comet;  still  others 
are  possessed  with  a  constant  fear  of  being  struck  by  light- 
ning—  they  are  terror-stricken  by  loud  thunder. 

Weather  worry.  Still  others  are  found  constantly  worry- 
ing over  the  weather.  They  are  never  quite  satisfied  with 
what  Nature  provides  —  the  sun  either  shines"  too  much  or 
it  rains  too  much.  They  are  like  the  grumbling  farmer 
whose  fault-finding  was  proverbial  for  miles  around.  In  the 
midst  of  one  ideal  summer  —  so  far  as  weather  conditions 
were  concerned  —  a  delegation  of  neighbors  called  on  him 
and  expressed  the  thought  that  he  must  be  for  once  satisfied 
with  the  fine  weather.  The  farmer  replied :  "  Yes,  the 
crops  are  good  and  the  weather  is  fine,  but  I  want  to  tell 
you  it 's  mighty  hard  on  the  land."  Some  men  and  women 
are  literally  human  barometers  and  thermometers.  As  a 
result  of  a  rheumatic  tendency,  coupled  with  constant  thought 
of  the  weather,  they  are  able  to  detect  a  storm  almost  be- 
fore the  weather  bureau  is  aware  it  has  appeared  on  the 
horizon.  Such  persons  are  able  to  keep  themselves  on  the 
border  of  nervous  prostration  by  their  constant  worry  over 
the  weather  and  fear  that  all  their  plans  will  be  upset  by 
rain,  storm,  or  drought. 

Timidity  worry.  This  might  be  named  as  another  gen- 
eral cause  of  mental  uneasiness.  Many  earnest  souls  con- 
stantly fear  that  they  will  make  some  blunder;  that  they 
will  fail  at  the  task  they  have  in  hand,  or  that  they  will  be 
unable  to  meet  the  demands  which  their  position  makes 
upon  them.  This  unnatural  timidity  results  in  producing  a 
mental  state  of  discouragement,  brooding,  and  despondency. 

Others  worry  over  their  responsibilities.  They  are  fear- 
ful that  they  will  fail  to  "  make  good "  in  the  matter  en- 
trusted to  them.  Such  individuals  are  found  to  be  over- 
anxious concerning  details  and  matters  for  which  they  are 
not  responsible  and  over  which  they  exercise  no  control; 
still  they  constantly  worry  over  such  things  to  the  point 
of  losing  both  appetite  and  sleep. 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  281 

Chronic  dissatisfaction.  Another  cause  of  worry  or  state 
of  mental  dissatisfaction  is  found  in  the  disposition  of  some 
people  to  find  fault  with  everything  and  everybody.  They 
have  literally  acquired  the  "  kicking "  habit.  It  seems  im- 
possible for  such  persons  to  see  good  in  anybody  or  to  be 
satisfied  with  anything. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  worry  grows  by  what  it 
feeds  on.  However  small  the  matter  over  which  we  begin 
to  worry,  the  cause  of  our  worry  will  be  found  entirely 
sufficient  to  feed  our  mental  uneasiness  to  the  point  where 
it  gains  possession  of  our  minds,  threatens  to  wreck  our 
career,  and  constantly  harasses  the  soul  to  the  point  where 
life  is  unbearable. 

Perverted  proverbs.  Many  an  old  saying  proverbial  for 
its  truthfulness  when  properly  understood,  has  resulted  in 
destroying  the  peace  and  happiness  of  those  who  have  come 
to  worry  over  its  literal  fulfilment.  Take  such  a  proverb  as 
"  Look  before  you  leap."  This  old  saying  certainly  con- 
tains good  advice,  but  we  have  known  of  earnest  men  and 
women  who  remained  stationary  in  their  life  plans  for 
years,  looking  with  such  care  and  scrutiny  over  the  present 
and  future  plans,  that  they  have  never  taken  advance  steps. 
They  have  been  too  fearful  to  leap;  they  would  not  take  a 
chance.  Old  age  has  crept  upon  them  and  their  career  was 
ruined  by  a  too  literal  interpretation  and  over-regard  for 
such  a  good  proverb  as  "  Look  before  you  leap." 

Another  proverb  causing  much  worry  is  that  old  sjaying, 
"  What  is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well."  While 
that  proverb  contains  good  advice  for  every  young  man 
and  woman,  it  must  be  remembered  that  every  day  of  our 
lives  we  have  to  perform  a  large  number  of  unessential 
tasks  —  tasks  which  are  but  temporary  scaffolding,  as  it 
were,  to  the  real  character  structure  we  are  building.  These 
minor  things  must  be  done  with  sufficient  care,  so  as  not  to 
endanger  the  real  structure  we  are  erecting;  nevertheless, 
it  would  be  a  waste  of  energy  to  try  carefully  to  square, 
polish,  and  paint  the  scaffolding  which  stands  but  to-day 
and  to-morrow  is  torn  away.  This  is  true  of  much  of  our 


282  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

work.  Each  day's  effort  must  be  wisely  divided  into  the 
essential  and  the  unessential,  and  it  should  be  no  occasion 
of  worry  that  some  trifling  thing  has  had  to  be  slighted  or 
altogether  neglected,  as  you  review  the  events  of  the  day 
in  its  closing  hours. 

Still  others  have  worried  too  much  over  such  teaching  as 
"  Be  sure  you  are  right,  then  go  ahead."  Owing  to  their 
peculiar  mental  make-up,  they  could  never  be  quite  sure  they 
were  absolutely  right,  and  so  they  never  went  ahead ;  and 
then  they  began  to  worry  because  they  had  not  gone  ahead. 

And  so  we  see  that  the  misunderstanding  of  even  good 
and  true  teaching  may  lead  to  such  a  one-sided  regard  of 
truth  and  duty  as  to  create  a  condition  of  mental  uneasi- 
ness leading  eventually  to  worry,  with  all  its  evil  effects 
upon  mind,  soul,  and  body. 

MENTAL   CAUSES   OF   WORRY. 

Let  us  now  briefly  consider  certain  mental  states  which 
directly  lead  to  worry.  The  attention  of  the  mind  concen- 
trated upon  any  part  of  the  body  has  a  tendency  to  magnify 
the  sensations  of  that  part.  Special,  peculiar,  or  unusual 
sensations  of  the  body,  always  have  a  tendency  to  engender 
more  or  less  fear  on  the  part  of  the  mind,  and  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  of  psychology  that  fear  increases  and  focalizes 
the  attention. 

The  worry  circle.  Now,  it  will  be  remembered  that  we 
have  stated  as  one  of  the  definitions  of  worry  that  it  is  a 
"  spasm  of  the  attention " ;  therefore,  we  have  here  the 
factors  for  the  health-destroying,  mind-ruining  circle  of 
worry,  which  has  been  aptly  called  the  "  vicious  worry  cir- 
cle " —  the  attention  magnifying  the  sensations,  the  sensa- 
tions increasing  the  fear  or  worry,  and  the  fear  further  in- 
creasing the  attention.  It  would  thus  appear  that  worry  is 
seldom  likely  to  cure  itself  by  being  allowed  to  run  its 
course.  This  matter  will  be  more  fully  considered  under 
the  treatment  of  worry. 

We  would  not  dispute  the  fact  that  the  soul-eyed,  hollow- 
cheeked  woman  may  be  on  the  road  to  heaven,  but  we  are 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  283 

quite  certain  she  has  a  stop-over  ticket  for  some  sanitarium 
or  hospital,  and  that  she  will  have  to  be  treated  for  the  re- 
sults of  her  constant  worry,  as  well  as  for  the  indigestion 
and  nervous  prostration  that  are  so  surely  produced  by  this 
unnatural  and  unhealthful  mental  state. 

Work  vs.  rust.  We  have  got  to  strike  an  intelligent  bal- 
ance between  the  dangers  which  threaten  us  on  the  one 
hand  from  too  much  work  and  the  friction  attendant 
thereon;  and  on  the  other  hand,  from  too  much  rest  and 
the  rust  of  character  which  is  sure  to  follow.  We  do  not 
want  either  to  worry  out  or  rust  out,  but  to  lead  the  normal, 
rational  life  which  promises  deliverance  from  the  threat- 
ened dangers  of  both. 

Self-consciousness.  Among  other  mental  causes  of  worry 
should  be  mentioned  the  exaggerated  self-consciousness 
found  especially  in  young  people  —  stage  fright  being  an 
acute  exhibition  of  this  form  of  mental  uneasiness  and  dis- 
comfort. Many  persons  find  it  almost  impossible  to  get 
away  from  these  insistent  thoughts.  They  have  a  special- 
ized concentration  of  the  attention,  and  it  is  certainly  a 
demonstration  of  the  fact  that  our  thoughts  are  a  real  part 
of  ourselves. 

We  remember  very  well  of  hearing  some  one  once  say,  "  An 
imaginary  worry  may  be  unreal,  but  a  worried  imagination 
is  very  real  " ;  and  this  is  really  true.  The  basis  of  our  worry 
may  be  entirely  false  and  unreal,  but  the  results  of  the 
worry  upon  the  health  of  mind,  soul,  and  body  are  in  every 
sense  real. 

Mental  idleness.  Those  who  would  cease  from  worry 
must  guard  against  mental  inactivity,  for  if  Satan  finds  mis- 
chief for  idle  hands,  he  is  sure  to  find  worry  for  idle  minds. 
Worry  obscures  our  outlook  on  life,  both  in  this  world  and 
the  next;  it  throttles  the  higher  faculties  of  the  mind;  it 
beclouds  our  view  of  life  and  all  its  duties. 

Fretting.  We  have  long  heard  the  old  proverb,  "  Noth- 
ing kills  so  sure  as  care,"  and  it  is  literally  true.  Fretting 
is  found  to  do  more  harm  to  mind  and  body  than  fatigue. 


284  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Indecision,  anxiety,  hesitancy,  doubt,  and  regret,  unduly  en- 
tertained, all  serve  to  produce  fear  and  worry. 

Special  fears,  koodoos,  etc.  Among  the  more  grave  men- 
tal causes  of  worry  may  be  mentioned  the  various 
"  phobias "  or  fears.  Men  and  women,  otherwise  intelli- 
gent and  sound  of  mind,  are  found  to  be  horribly  afraid  of 
certain  foods  or  the  drinking  water  of  a  certain  locality ; 
still  others  fear  numbers  such  as  thirteen,  twenty-three,  etc. 
This  form  of  fear  commonly  passes  under  the  name  of  super- 
stition. Others  fear  disease.  They  live  through  a  long  life 
constantly  brooding  over  the  fear  that  they  will  die  from 
cancer  or  some  other  maglignant  disease.  Others  fear  dis- 
aster; they  are  sure  they  will  be  killed  in  an  earthquake  or 
be  swept  off  by  a  cyclone.  Some  fear  great  heights  and  will 
not  go  up  in  a  high  office  building  if  they  can  possibly  avoid 
it.  Others  fear  animals,  and  during  the  summer  season 
carefully  avoid  all  dogs,  for  fear  of  being  bitten  by  a  mad 
dog,  not  knowing  that  mad  dogs  are  just  as  plentiful  during 
the  winter  as  during  so-called  "  dog-days." 

Obsession.  Obsession  is  a  sort  of  slavish  worry  which 
fastens  'itself  in  one  way  or  another  on  most  of  us  —  the 
boy  who  cannot  pass  a  hitching-post  without  kicking  it  or 
jumping  over  it;  the  woman  who  carefully  avoids  all  the 
cracks  on  a  stone  walk  while  passing  down  the  street;  the 
man  who  cannot  put  his  hands  in  his  pocket  without  count- 
ing the  pieces  of  money;  the  young  lady  who  cannot  sit  in  a 
public  hall  without  counting  the  number  of  rings,  roses,  or 
stripes  in  the  wall  paper,  etc.  These  conditions  are  all 
manifestations  of  the  mental  state  called  obsession.  These 
habits  show  an  unhealthy  mental  tendency  toward  fear  and 
worry. 

Mental  work  never  kills.  Mental  work  plus  worry  is 
highly  destructive  to  the  health  of  brain  and  the  life  of  the 
body;  while  heavy  mental -work  coupled  with  unusual  worry, 
carried  to  the  point  of  producing  a  state  of  sleeplessness, 
presents-  conditions  that  will  more  quickly  ruin  the  health 
and  break  down  the  mind  than  any  other  possible  combina- 
tion. 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  285 

Unreal  troubles.  We  recently  saw  a  picture  which  greatly 
impressed  us  concerning  the  uselessness  of  worry.  It  was 
a  picture  of  an  old  man,  bent  in  form,  sad  of  expression, 
suggestive  of  a  life  filled  with  perplexities  and  anxiety,  and 
underneath  the  picture  was  this  statement :  "  I  am  an  old 
man  and  have  had  many  troubles  —  most  of  which  never 
happened." 

A  recent  writer,  in  discussing  the  question  of  worry  and 
the  weakened  condition  of  the  mind  which  permits  the 
"  worry  circle "  to  go  on  forever  revolving,  getting  worse 
and  worse,  in  describing  this  mental  state,  put  it  very 
aptly  as  follows :  "  You  say  you  cannot ;  your  friends 
say  you  will  not;  the  truth  is  you  cannot  will."  There  is 
need  of  a  determined  effort  to  strengthen  the  will,  to  con- 
trol the  mind,  and  the  methods  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  will  be  discussed  in  connection  with  the  treatment  of 
worry. 

Worry  diseases.  Certain  nervous  diseases  are  caused  by 
worry.  Most  important  among  these  is  the  condition  known 
as  "  neurasthenia,"  or  commonly  called  "  nervous  prostra- 
tion." Patients  suffering  from  this  condition  are  usually 
spoken  of  as  all  "  run  down."  The  truth  is  that  they  are 
patients  who  have  been  all  "  wound  up,"  and  as  a  result  of 
high  tension,  coupled  with  mental  anxiety,  they  have  broken 
down  —  collapsed. 

Hypochondria  is  another  disease  which  owes  its  origin 
and  perpetuation  largely  to  worry.  Hypochondria  is  simply 
a  condition  in  which  one  worries  about  having  other  dis- 
eases. 

A  third  form  of  nervous  complaint  largely  due  to  worry 
and  anxiety  is  hysteria,  and  hysteria  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, is  the  impersonator  of  almost  every  known  disease. 

MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  CAUSES  OF  WORRY. 

"  Religion "  may  be  either  a  cause  of  worry,  or  it  may 
play  the  role  of  a  cure.  We  are  speaking  of  "  religion " 
in  the  sense  of  some  form  of  theological  belief.  Every  now 
and  then  we  hear  of  some  one  "  going  crazy  over  religion." 


'286  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

These  individuals  are  usually  hyper-conscientious,  over- 
scrupulous, as  a  rule,  with  a  nervous  system  already  weak- 
ened, perhaps  with  a  strain  of  insanity  in  the  family,  and 
perhaps  having  ancestors  who  were  alcoholic,  syphilitic,  etc. 
The  combination  of  such  physical  soil,  taken  together  with 
unusual  mental  strain,  excitement,  etc.,  connected  with  re- 
ligious enthusiasm,  is  frequently  able  to  overturn  the  mind 
suddenly  or  else  to  produce  such  an  unnatural  condition  of 
anxiety  and  worry  as  gradually  to  undermine  the  mental 
vigor.  Fanaticism  is  either  one-sided  moral  reasoning  or 
overwork  of  the  spiritual  faculties. 

Religious  uncertainty.  Worry  is  frequently  generated  by 
false  ideas  and  arbitrary  views  of  the  Creator.  Doctrinal 
and  interpretative  errors  of  religious  belief  are  responsible 
for  much  of  the  downcast,  sad,  and  despondent  experience 
of  many  professed  Christians ;  as  well  as  for  the  unsatis- 
factory and  miserable  experience  of  thousands  who  do  not 
profess  to  be  followers  of  Christ.  Many  earnest  and  hon- 
est souls  have  such  wrestlings  with  the  doubt  of  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins,  or  the  fear  of  eternal  damnation, 
that  the  mind  is  held  in  constant  bondage  to  these  insistent 
and  oppressive  thoughts,  which  finally  result  in  the  produc- 
tion of  chronic  worry. 

Misguided  zeal.  Still  others  possess  themselves  of  such 
an  extraordinary  burden  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of 
their  fellow-men,  that  they  in  a  measure  assume  the  work 
of  the  world's  Saviour,  and,  as  a  result,  their  brains  are 
overburdened  and  their  souls  are  crushed  with  a  constant 
worry  and  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  their  fellows. 

It  is  an  important  observation  which  the  writer  is  not 
alone  in  making,  that  as  the  so-called  old-fashioned  religion 
declines,  worry  increases.  As  men  and  women  depart  from 
the  simple  faith  and  trust  in  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  Christian  religion,  there  is  a  growing  tendency  —  an  in- 
creasing manifestation  —  to  worry. 

The  writer  sincerely  believes  that  the  religion  of  the  soul 
should  be  as  a  bright  light  shining  in  a  dark  place  —  our 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  287 

guiding  star  —  instead  of  being  perverted  into  a  source  of 
worry,  grief,  and  despondency. 

PHYSICAL   CAUSES   OF   WORRY 

Many  a  human  being  is  caused  more  or  less  worry 
throughout  life  by  the  hereditary  legacies  handed  down  to 
him  by  father  and  mother  in  the  shape  of  physical  weakness 
and  bodily  deformity.  Still  others,  owing  to  a  weakened 
nervous  system  or  overstrain,  have  fallen  into  a  condition 
of  nervous  irritability  that  renders  them  liable  to  anxiety 
and  worry  upon  the  least  provocation.  Such  persons  —  in 
fact  all  of  us  —  are  greatly  predisposed  to  worry  by  sleep- 
lessness. Sound  sleep  is  a  great  preventive  of  the  mental 
state  that  borders  on  worry. 

Many  worry  because  of  lingering  diseases,  unusual  afflic- 
tions, or  they  grieve  because  of  the  sickness  of  their  loved 
ones. 

Mind  diseases.  There  is  no  doubt  that  nine-tenths  of  all 
ordinary  diseases  originate  in  the  mind,  and  it  is  worry  that 
produces  the  soil  from  which  these  infant  diseases  spring. 
The  seeds  of  mental  disease  and  physical  affliction  may  fall 
upon  us  thick  and  fast,  but  if  they  fail  to  find  the  soil  of 
worry  and  depression  in  which  to  grow,  we  are  not  likely 
to  be  seriously  affected  by  their  presence.  It  requires  not 
only  a  germ  to  produce  disease,  but  also  a  favorable  soil  in 
which  it  may  grow.  Worry  produces  that  condition  of  mind 
and  body  favorable  to  the  growth  and  development  of  all 
the  vicious  diseases  which  prey  upon  the  mind  and  destroy 
the  body. 

Childish  worries.  There  is  a  group  of  worry  causes 
which  might  be  termed  childhood  worries.  The  worries  of 
childhood  are  just  as  real  as  those  of  adult  life.  The  little 
girl  who  is  made  to  wear  short  dresses  above  her  knees 
when  she  has  outgrown  them,  or  the  little  boy  who  is  made 
to  wear  the  clothes  of  an  infant  when  he  regards  himself  a 
young  man  —  their  worries  are  all  real ;  they  grieve  over 
these  things.  Likewise  their  griefs  and  sorrows  resulting 


288  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

from  ridicule,  teasing,  etc. —  these  all  serve  to  start  the 
mind  acting  in  unhealthy  channels  and  to  warp  the  nervous 
system  in  its  development. 

Old  age  worry.  Another  form  of  worry  which  may  be 
properly  classified  as  among  the  physical  causes,  is  the  worry 
of  "  old  age."  As  the  years  pass  over  us,  the  arteries 
harden,  the  memory  fails,  the  skin  becomes  wrinkled  and 
leathery.  There  is  a  tendency  to  worry  on  the  part  of  the 
aged  that  is  born  both  of  the  retrospective  view  of  life  and 
anticipation  as  to  what  the  future  holds  in  store.  Especially 
is  this  true  in  the  case  of  those  who  do  not  have  sufficient 
means  laid  up  properly  to  care  for  them  to  a  good  old  age. 

The  worry  habit.  But  after  all  that  can  be  said  of  the 
causes  of  worry,  we  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  some  peo- 
ple have  come  to  the  place  where  they  enjoy  poor  health. 
They  would  not  be  happy  if  they  could  not  complain  of 
headache,  backache,  stomach-ache,  or  something  of  the  kind ; 
their  complaints  have  become  chronic;  they  enjoy  enlist- 
ing the  sympathy  of  their  fellows,  having  delight  in  de- 
scribing their  sufferings  and  explaining  their  miseries ; 
they  are  constantly  consulting  the  almanac  and  the  patent 
medicine  advertisements  to  find  some  new  cause  for  phys- 
ical complaint,  and  they  usually  find  what  they  are  looking 
for. 

Fads  and  delusions.  Newspaper  articles  and  fads  are 
liable  to  set  a  whole  nation  worrying  over  some  article  of 
diet.  Some  editorial  novice,  who  cannot  earn  his  living  in 
a  better  way,  sends  out  an  article  to  the  newspaper  syndi- 
cate that  some  scientist  has  discovered  that  strawberries  are 
poisonous,  and  ten  thousand  people  immediately  begin  to 
have  stomach  trouble  from  eating  strawberries,  or  begin  to 
worry  over  their  liability  to  disagree  with  them.  It  is 
proverbial  that  medical  students  are  prone  to  have,  or  at 
least  think  they  have,  the  diseases  they  are  studying. 

Results  of  worry.  Some  of  the  physical  results  of  chronic 
worry  may  be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows:  Insomnia, 
loss  of  weight,  anaemia,  rise  in  blood-pressure,  hardening 


THE  CAUSE  OF  WORRY  289 

of  the  arteries,  premature  old  age  and  apoplexy,  headaches, 
dyspepsia  and  constipation,  pale  skin  and  poor  circulation, 
predisposition  to  the  "  catching "  of  contagious  diseases  and 
colds. 

SOCIAL   AND   INDUSTRIAL   CAUSES   OF   WORRY 

Among  the  social  causes  of  worry,  family  trouble,  either 
real  or  false,  probably  comes  first.  Divorces,  desertions,  and 
social  dissipations  result  in  a  vast  amount  of  human  worry, 
sorrow,  sickness,  and  death. 

Household  problems.  These  are  other  causes  of  worry. 
The  proper  rearing  of  the  boy,  the  successful  training  of 
the  girl,  the  usual  petty  cares  of  the  home  to  which  all 
women  are  subject,  together  with  the  modern  servant  prob- 
lem—  all  serve  to  create  anxiety  and  worry,  together  with 
the  useless  and  unnecessary  toil  connected  with  the  family 
life.  Housewives  are  constantly  worried  over  the  proper 
performance  of  little  things  that  would  in  no  way  affect  the 
family  happiness  if  they  were  left  undone. 

Society  worry.  Among  social  causes  of  worry  are  those 
of  jealousy  and  distrust  —  the  social  rivalry  and  ambition 
found  among  the  "  smart  sets  "  of  our  metropolitan  centres. 

Undue  sympathy  for  friends  may  be  set  down  as  another 
cause  of  mental  uneasiness. 

Social  and  family  friction  may  cause  worry  to  the  point 
of  producing  such  high  blood-pressure  as  to  lead  its  vic- 
tims to  the  use  of  alcohol,  in  an  effort  to  secure  relief  from 
mental  and  nervous  tension.  Intemperance  may  be  set 
down  as  both  a  cause  and  a  result  of  worry. 

Labor-saving  inventions.  Every  product  of  modern  in- 
ventive genius  which  tends  to  decrease  the  physical  work 
of  the  body  is  bound  to  increase  the  tendency  toward  men- 
tal worry.  The  less  we  use  the  body,  the  more  likely  we  are 
to  over-use  (abuse)  the  mind  by  worrying. 

An  inordinate  worldly  ambition  may  generate  worry  on 
the  one  hand,  while  there  can  be  no  denying  the  fact  that 
poverty  is  a  provoker  of  worry  on  the  other  hand.  Finan- 
19 


290  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

cial  difficulties  and  business  reverses  must  be  set  down  as 
among  the  industrial  causes  of  an  uneasy  mind. 

Labor  troubles.  Industrial  disputes  and  labor  difficulties, 
the  constant  friction  between  combinations  of  money  and 
those  of  muscle,  produce  conditions  which  are  ever  provo- 
cative of  industrial  uncertainty,  and,  therefore,  result  in 
generating  mental  anxiety  and  worry. 

Accidents  incident  to  our  modern  industrial  life  produce 
worry  both  in  those  who  fear  them  and  those  who  are  com- 
pelled to  suffer  because  of  them;  in  fact,  the  complexity  of 
the  demands  of  our  modern  social  and  industrial  organiza- 
tion, is  such  as  to  constantly  entoil  us  in  the  meshes  of  anx- 
iety and  worry. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  CURE  OF  WORRY 

THE  CURE  OF  WORRY. —  THE  PRACTICE  OF  SELF-CONTROL,  OR  AUTO- 
SUGGESTIVE  THERAPEUTICS. —  MENTAL  THERAPEUTICS,  OR  SO-CALLED 
SUGGESTION. —  MORAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  THERAPEUTICS. —  PHYSICAL 
THERAPEUTICS,  OR  THE  CURE  OF  BODILY  DISEASE. —  SOCIAL  THERA- 
PEUTICS.—  FRAUDULENT  MENTAL  THERAPEUTICS,  OR  THE  APPAR- 
ENT REMOVAL  OF  WORRY  AND  THE  CURE  OF  DISEASE  BY  FRAUD  AND 

DECEPTION. —  MORAL    DECEPTION. —  MENTAL    DRUGS. —  CHRISTIAN 
SCIENCE  CURES. 

•"I  ""HE  fundamental  requirement  for  the  treatment  of  worry 
.  J[  is  the  restoration  of  legitimate  confidence  in  yourself 
and  faith  in  your  friends  and  associates.  There  should  also 
be  developed  simple  and  implicit  trust  in  a  Supreme  Being. 
After  the  analysis  of  the  causes  of  worry,  as  outlined  in  the 
previous  chapter,  it  seems  useless  to  add  that  those  who 
would  begin  its  treatment  must  first  put  forth  every  effort 
and  make  every  provision  for  the  removal  of  the  causes,  both 
remote  and  direct.  We  cannot  by  any  process  of  treatment 
expect  to  be  successful  in  our  escape  from  worry  so  long  as 
we  permit  its  causes  to  remain  in  operation  in  our  experience. 

I.    THE  PRACTICE  OF  SELF-CONTROL,   OR  AUTO-SUGGES- 
TIVE  THERAPEUTICS 

In  these  days  we  hear  a  great  deal  about  "  suggestive 
therapeutics."  Suggestions  to  a  disobedient  mind  should 
come  from  the  higher  mental  sources  —  the  divinely  taught 
faculties  of  the  mind  itself.  The  secret  of  the  self-treat- 
ment of  worry  is  the  cultivation  and  acquirement  of  self- 
control.  Purpose  to  be  a  brave  captain  of  your  own  mind. 
Summon  to  your  aid  all  possible  spiritual  help,  moral  reso- 
lution, and  mental  decision.  Dictate  positive  commands  to 

291 


292  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

the  faculties  which  direct  the  physical  sensations  that  in- 
fluence the  bodily  state.  Learn  to  be  a  mental  master  of  your 
moods.  Do  not  permit  yourself  to  drift  along  like  a  help- 
less, rudderless  bark,  tossed  to  and  fro  by  every  sensation  of 
pain  and  distress. 

Sensation  neglect.  Systematically  practice  sensation  neg- 
lect, if  the  causes  of  your  worry  are  certain  physical  con- 
ditions. If  your  worries  are  of  a  mental  or  a  family  nature, 
make  your  peace  with  God  and  your  fellow-men,  and  then 
practise  a  little  common  sense.  The  employment  of  a  great 
and  good  motive  will  do  a  great  deal  to  drive  worry  out  of 
your  experience. 

Fictitious  worry.  If  you  are  suffering  from  "  fictitious  " 
worry,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  make  a  "  declaration  of 
emancipation "  in  your  own  behalf.  Formally  publish  to 
your  own  soul  that  you  are  free  from  these  delusions  and 
destructive  imaginations.  Recognize  that  your  worry  is  an 
unreal  thing;  that  even  if  it  were  real,  further  worry  would 
only  be  useless  —  it  would  only  make  a  bad  matter  worse. 
Resolve  to  cease  worrying  and  follow  up  your  resolution  so 
carefully  as  really  to  do  it 

Now,  we  might  just  as  well  differentiate  here  between  the 
individual  who  is  trying  to  overcome  worry  and  yet  con- 
scientiously perform  his  duties  to  the  world,  and  the  com- 
mon ne'er-do-well,  who  neither  worries  nor  thinks.  A 
happy-go-lucky  sort  of  individual  is  he,  caring  neither  for 
his  own  progress  nor  for  the  progress  and  betterment  of 
the  world.  He  drifts  with  the  stream  of  time,  taking 
everything  just  as  it  comes.  We  do  not  make  a  plea  for  the 
development  of  such  as  he.  We  recognize  the  necessity  for 
thought,  deliberation,  meditation  —  for  carefully  weighing 
one's  problems  and  difficulties.  We  believe  in  the  consid- 
erate attention  that  belongs  to  every  worthy  problem.  It 
is  the  "  spasm  of  the  attention  " —  that  chronic  mental  state 
resulting  from  long  continued  fret  and  distrust,  doubt  and 
despair,  for  which  we  are  seeking  relief. 

Sleep  worry.     For  instance,  take  nervous  individuals  who 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  293 

do  not  sleep  well.  All  day  long  they  fear  they  will  not  be 
able  to  sleep.  As  night  approaches,  they  become  more  and 
more  convinced  they  will  not  be  able  to  sleep.  They  go  to 
bed  with  the  settled  conviction  that  they  will  not  go  to  sleep. 
Now,  such  individuals,  in  addition  to  baths  and  other  proper 
physical  treatment,  will  do  well  to  go  to  bed  with  the  idea 
uppermost  in  their  minds  that  they  -will  sleep  and  not  care 
at  all  if  they  do  not  sleep.  This  will  relieve  the  mental 
tension,  partially  remove  the  anxiety,  effectually  destroy  the 
state  of  worry,  and  help  a  great  deal  in  producing  natural 
sleep.  In  your  efforts  to  overcome  worry  and  regain  a 
natural  mental  equilibrium,  suggest  to  yourself  thoughts  of 
health  and  peace  at  the  retiring  time  —  just  before  you  go  to 
sleep  —  and  let  these  thoughts  rest  in  the  mind  as  a  part  of 
yourself  while  you  sleep.  This  self-suggestion  to  the  mind 
is  of  some  value,  as  evidenced  by  the  experience  of  many  in- 
dividuals who  can  resolve,  just  before  falling  to  sleep,  to 
wake  up  at  a  certain  time,  and  in  the  vast  majority  of  in- 
stances they  are  able  to  wake  up  at  just  the  time  settled  upon 
in  their  suggestion. 

Minimising  difficulties.  Practise  the  art  of  minimizing 
your  difficulties.  Do  not  look  at  your  obstacles  with  a  mag- 
nifying glass.  Make  up  your  mind  that  in  many  instances 
you  will  be  able  to  rise  triumphant  over  apparent  defeat 
and  move  right  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  your  way.  Do  not 
become  greatly  disturbed  by  the  little  ripples  of  life  which 
pass  through  your  experience  from  time  to  time.  Practise 
taking  your  own  good  advice  and  all  the  suggestions  you 
give  to  other  people  about  not  worrying.  Don't  forget  to 
use  them  yourself. 

Have  the  moral  courage  to  enforce  your  own  anti-worry 
mandates.  When  you  have  commanded  the  mind  to  cease 
worrying,  keep  right  after  it  and  see  that  it  does.  In  all 
these  little  things  that  harass  one's  soul,  as  some  one  has 
said,  "  Don't  forget  to  remember  the  probability  that  you 
have  not,  as  well  as  the  possibility  that  you  have,  made  a 
mistake." 


294  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

II.    MENTAL  THERAPEUTICS,  OR  SO-CALLED  SUGGESTION 

It  must  be  remembered  in  dealing  with  our  fellows  who 
are  victims  of  worrying  over  mental  delusions  and  dis- 
eases, that  so  far  as  the  mind  is  concerned,  we  are  called 
upon  to  treat  these  conditions  largely  by  mental  and  moral 
means  —  not  necessarily  by  material  means  —  although  it 
will  often  be  found  that  the  body  is  in  such  a  condition  as 
the  result  of  chronic  worry,  as  to  require  treatment  by  nat- 
ural remedial  agencies  such  as  water,  air,  exercise,  diet,  etc. 

True  and  false  suggestion.  In  our  efforts  to  help  the  in- 
dividual over  his  worries  and  mental  difficulties,  we  should 
recognize  that  there  are  true  and  false  suggestions.  True 
suggestions  appeal  to  the  reason,  deal  with  facts,  point  out 
causes,  and  offer  a  cure  which  is  rational  and  right.  False 
suggestions  (and  the  world  is  deluged  with  systems  of  men- 
tal healing  based  upon  falsity  and  untruth)  appeal  to  the 
imagination.  They  aim  to  give  immediate  relief  although 
temporary ;  they  aim  to  "  heal  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of 
my  people  slightly  " ;  they  seek  to  produce  immediate  relief, 
no  matter  at  what  future  expense  and  pain  to  the  body,  or 
eternal  damnation  to  the  soul.  All  methods  of  sympathy, 
suggestion,  and  advice  to  mental  sufferers  should  be  based 
upon  truth,  free  from  falsity  and  deception. 

The  key  of  mental  healing.  Suggestion,  either  true  or 
false,  is  the  key  that  unlocks  many  a  medical  mystery  and 
explains  the  cure  of  mental  diseases  in  all  times  and  by  a 
thousand  different  methods.  The  systems  of  the  ancient 
medicine  man  and  the  modern  bogus  healer  are  all  based  on 
the  destruction  of  fear  and  the  generation  of  faith.  Trust 
and  confidence  are  the  mental  states  prerequisite  to  the 
banishment  of  worry,  and  for  the  time  being  it  matters  not 
whether  the  suggestions  responsible  for  the  change  in  the 
mental  state  are  true  or  false  —  the  physical  effects  are  just 
about  the  same.  Please  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  not  re- 
ferring to  the  after-effects  upon  mind  and  the  subsequent 
results  upon  the  soul  —  these  are  wholly  deleterious  and  dis- 
astrous, and  will  be  dealt  with  later. 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  295 

Positive  thinking.  Train  your  mind  to  think  positive 
thoughts.  For  instance:  Instead  of  saying  to  yourself  all 
the  time,  "  The  noise  of  these  children  will  drive  me  crazy," 
seek  to  calm  your  nerves,  control  your  mind  by  thinking 
like  this:  "The  innocent  noise  of  these  little  ones  will  not 
drive  me  crazy;  it  won't  hurt  me  at  all."  A  patient  once 
remarked  to  me  that  he  had  greatly  helped  himself  in  sleep- 
ing when,  on  retiring,  the  thought  kept  running  through  his 
mind,  "  I  cannot  sleep,  I  cannot  sleep,"  by  simply  changing 
it  around  and  saying,  "  I  can  sleep,  I  can  sleep,  I  will  sleep." 
If  these  suggestions  are  to  be  made  to  us,  it  is  proper  that 
we  should  make  them  ourselves.  If  they  are  to  be  made  to 
the  patient  by  a  second  party,  let  them  be  made  in  reason 
and  while  the  patient  is  awake  —  conscious. 

Hypnotism.  This  is  not  the  place  to  consider  hypnotism, 
but  the  writer  desires,  in  this  connection,  to  emphasize  the 
uselessness  of  this  practice  in  the  permanent  relief  and  help 
of  these  mental  sufferers.  Hypnotism  is  basically  wrong, 
unphysiologic,  and  immoral.  It  is  not  used  or  countenanced 
by  the  author  in  his  clinics,  where  large  numbers  of  these 
mental  sufferers  are  annually  found  among  the  patients  who 
present  themselves  for  treatment  by  physiologic  thera 
peutics. 

Self-interest.  The  mind  must  be  taken  off  from  self-in- 
terests if  we  would  strengthen  it  and  prepare  it  for  deliv- 
erance from  worry.  There  are  three  things  essential  to  the 
ideal  mental  state : 

1.  Do  everything  possible  to  lessen  self-consciousness  and 
direct  thought  of  yourself. 

2.  Make  a  positive  effort  to  externalize  your  thoughts; 
that  is,  think  of  others  and  the  great  creation  of  God  — 
everything  possible  outside  of  yourself  and  your  own  in- 
terests. 

3.  Widen  your  field  of  vision  and  broaden  the  sphere  of 
your  interests  somewhat;  take  up  new  lines  of  study;  take 
an  interest  in  new  people ;  spread  out  the  sphere  of  your  men- 
tal action. 

Cultivate  faith  and  trust.    Occupy  the  mind  with  faith 


296  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

thoughts.  Fear  thought  is  the  ancestor  of  worry,  and  fear 
thoughts  can  be  successfully  driven  out  of  the  mind  only  by 
faith  thoughts.  Cultivate  cheerfulness,  confidence,  faith,  and 
trust.  Think  health  thoughts  instead  of  disease  thoughts. 
Take  your  mind  off  your  diseases,  your  aches  and  pains. 
Have  the  mind  dwell  upon  the  wonderful  provisions  which 
Nature  affords  for  regaining  health.  Think  of  the  fresh 
air,  pure  water,  good  food,  and  engage  in  exercise  of  the 
body;  come  close  to  Nature  herself  and  replace  the  thoughts 
of  disease  with  a  mental  current  bearing  messages  of  health 
and  strength.  Exercise  good  emotions,  even  if  you  have  to 
put  them  on  for  the  time  being,  and  you  will  joyfully  dis- 
cover that  ere  long  you  will  have  actually  become  what  you 
at  one  time  had  to  pretend  to  be. 

Worry  about  worry.  Of  all  things,  do  not  make  the  mis- 
take of  worrying  now  because  you  have  worried  in  the 
past.  Please  do  not  be  so  shortsighted  as  to  worry  over 
your  worries.  Watch  your  habitual  expression  and  culti- 
vate one  that  is  cheerful  and  happy.  It  will  react  on  the 
mind  and  help  you  in  the  battle  against  worry. 

The  holiday  spirit.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  cultivate  the  abil- 
ity to  forget  some  things  as  well  as  the  ability  to  remember 
others.  It  is  this  temporary  forgetfulness  of  the  burden- 
some routine  of  life  that  gives  one  such  happiness  of  mind 
and  health  of  body  during  a  holiday  or  the  time  spent  on  a 
vacation.  At  such  times  the  mind  is  comparatively  free 
from  worry,  and  this  undoubtedly  contributes  much  to  the 
sum  of  physical  benefits  received  at  such  times. 

Sleep  over  it.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  practise  sleeping  over 
things  before  you  take  them  too  seriously.  Many  difficulties 
will  be  found  to  adjust  themselves  to  a  more  hopeful  posi- 
tion if  left  alone  over  night,  and  then  after  all,  even  when 
things  seem  to  be  at  their  worst,  when,  as  you  say,  "  It  never 
rains  but  it  pours " —  even  then  you  can  console  yourself 
with  the  old  woman's  philosophy  that  after  all  "  maybe  it 
ain't  so." 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  297 


III.    MORAL  AND   SPIRITUAL  THERAPEUTICS 

Some  one  has  suggested  that  worry  should  be  treated  by 
dogma  and  not  by  drugs,  and  this  is  good  advice  so  far  as 
it  goes.  The  author  regards  the  Christian  religion  as  the  -<~ 
true  system  of  mind  treatment  —  the  real  scientific  psycho- 
therapy. Prayer  is  the  most  powerful  and  effectual 
worry-remover  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  That  man 
or  woman  who  has  learned  to  pray  with  childlike  sincerity 
—  literally  talk  to,  and  commune  with,  the  Heavenly  Father, 
is  in  possession  of  the  great  secret  whereby  he  or  she  can 
cast  all  care  upon  God,  for  He  careth  for  us.'  A  clear  con- 
science is  a  great  step  toward  barricading  the  mind  against 
the  entrance  of  worry.  A  moral  taint  of  whatever  sort  is 
bound  to  breed  mental  uneasiness  and  result  in  destroying 
perfect  balance  and  poise  of  mind. 

The  cheering-up  business.  We  know  of  many  who  have 
cured  themselves  of  chronic  worry  and  despondency  by  en- 
listing in  the  "  cheering-up  business  " —  going  about  syste- 
matically and  persistently  cheering  other  people  up.  A  con- 
stant effort  to  help  other  people  to  cease  worrying  is  sure  to 
react  favorably  upon  ourselves  and  prove  of  great  assistance 
in  our  battle  to  banish  fear-thought  and  worry. 

Spiritual  nutrition.  We  believe  many  are  victims  of  these 
mental  worries  because  of  the  fact  that  they  have  failed  prop- 
erly to  maintain  their  spiritual  nutrition.  As  the  mind  is 
intended  to  control  the  body,  the  spiritual  faculties  —  com-  v 
monly  called  the  soul  —  are  intended  to  control,  direct,  and 
inspire  the  mind.  The  majority  of  people  liberally  feed 
their  bodies,  and  many  make  generous  provision  for  their 
mental  nourishment;  but  the  vast  majority  leave  the  soul  to 
starve,  paying  very  little  attention  to  their  spiritual  nutri- 
tion; and,  as  a  result,  the  spiritual  nature  is  so  weakened 
that  it  is  unable  to  exercise  that  restraining  influence  over 
the  mind  which  would  enable  it  to  surmount  its  difficulties 
and  live  in  an  atmosphere  above  despair  and  despondency. 


298  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

We  believe  that  perfect  trust  in  a  Supreme  Being  is  one 
of  the  essential  steps  in  the  successful  treatment  and  effect- 
ual deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  worry.  If  your  re- 
ligion does  not  help  you  in  these  matters,  if  it  does  not 
change  you,  then  it  would  be  better  to  change  your  religion 
and  get  one  that  does. 

IV.    PHYSICAL  THERAPEUTICS,  OR  THE  CURE  OF  BODILY 
DISEASE 

Let  the  servants  of  worry  and  the  victims  of  grief  turn 
their  efforts  toward  the  cultivation  of  health.  Let  the 
mind  be  occupied  with  health  efforts  in  the  place  of  anxiety 
and  evil  foreboding.  Give  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
health  as  outlined  in  the  previous  chapters  of  this  book,  and 
little  time  will  be  left  for  sorrow  and  sadness. 

The  delusion  of  drugs.  We  are  aware  that  there  are 
many  drugs  that  afford  temporary  relief  from  worry,  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  when  worry  is  cast  out  by 
drugs,  like  a  demon  of  old  it  is  sure  to  return  ere  long, 
with  seven  devils  more  wicked  than  itself.  We  should  be 
slow  to  employ  drugs  to  help  us  over  our  mental  harass- 
ments  or  physical  sufferings.  A  settled  state  of  mind  will 
aid  much  in  helping  us  to  endure  either  suffering  of  mind  or 
body. 

Keep  the  mind  off  the  body.  Careful  observation  has 
taught  us  that  the  less  attention  we  pay  to  the  function  of 
any  organ  in  the  body,  the  more  regular  and  healthful  it  be- 
comes in  its  action.  This  is  why  dyspeptics  should  never 
engage  in  the  discussion  of  diet  at  meal  time.  If  you  want 
the  stomach  to  do  regular  work  and  good  work,  keep  your 
mind  off  of  it  when  it  has  food  in  it.  Do  all  your  study 
of  diet  between  meals  and  at  the  table  never  think  of  your 
stomach.  This  we  have  fully  discussed  in  the  chapter  on 
Digestion. 

Cheerfulness  and  baths.  Laughter  seems  to  be  of  real 
value  in  the  treatment  of  these  melancholic  subjects  of 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  299 

chronic  fear.  It  seems  to  serve  the  purpose  of  relieving  the 
"  attention  spasm  " ;  it  gets  the  mind  away  from  self  for  a 
moment.  Cold  baths  and  rubbing  of  the  body  are  also  of 
great  value  because  of  their  influence  upon  the  general 
nervous  system,  and  more  particularly  because  they  flush  the 
brain  and  increase  the  circulation  of  the  blood  about  the 
worried  nerve  cells.  Deep  breathing  exercises  accomplish 
the  same  purpose.  It  is  a  crime  for  those  who  are  victims 
of  worry  and  despondency  to  sleep  in  close,  stuffy  bedrooms. 
They  should  come  as  near  sleeping  out  of  doors  as  possible. 

Digestion  and  constipation.  In  the  battle  against  worry, 
every  effort  should  be  made  to  promote  good  digestion,  and 
it  is  imperative  that  constipation  be  removed.  Combat 
portal  congestion  or  stagnation  of  blood  in  the  liver,  by 
making  frequent  pressure  over  the  abdomen  or  wearing  a 
moist  abdominal  bandage  at  night,  covered  with  waterproof 
and  with  dry  flannel  on  the  outside.  Engage  in  exercises 
for  the  strengthening  of  the  abdominal  muscles.  Doctor 
Abrams  called  attention  years  ago  to  the  fact  that  the 
"  blues  "  were  due  to  congestion  of  blood  in  the  abdominal 
vessels  associated  with  the  liver. 

An  effort  should  be  made,  by  proper  bathing,  to  keep  the 
blood  circulating  in  the  skin.  Cultivate  habitual  deep 
breathing.  Drink  two  quarts  of  water  a  day  (not  at  meal 
time)  and  obtain  suitable  medical  treatment  and  advice  for 
any  real  disease  you  have. 

V.    SOCIAL   THERAPEUTICS 

The  unfortunate  victims  of  worry  are  much  influenced 
by  the  society  in  which  they  move.  We  should  make  up  our 
minds  to  get  along  the  best  we  can  with  our  friends  and 
associates.  Cultivate  the  art  of  living  with  yourself  as  you 
are  and  the  world  as  it  is.  Train  yourself  to  pay  more 
attention  to  the  value  of  what  you  are  doing  and  how  you 
are  doing  it,  than  to  how  you  are  feeling  or  what  you  have 
done  in  the  past.  Make  every  reasonable  effort  to  live 
within  your  income.  Avoid  debts;  they  always  generate 


300  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

worry.  The  mortgage  is  bound  to  harass  the  mind  and  re- 
flexly  lower  the  vital  resistance  of  the  body.  Do  not  borrow 
unless  for  business  necessity  or  safe  investment 

Enjoy  your  work.  The  nation  recently  had  a  strenuous 
.president,  who  explained  his  good  health  in  the  face  of 
hard  work  by  saying,  "  I  like  my  job."  Make  up  your  mind 
that  you  will  either  like  your  present  job  or  else  imme- 
diately abandon  it  and  get  one  you  can  or  will  like.  Con- 
tentment with  daily  toil,  satisfaction  with  one's  regular  em- 
ployment is  a  great  aid  in  dispelling  worry. 

Child-society.  Cultivate  the  society  of  children  and  cheer- 
ful adults.  There  is  many  a  chronic  worrier  about  the  home 
who  would  be  cured  by  the  advent  or  the  adoption  of  a 
bright-faced  baby.  Their  light-hearted  freedom  from  care 
and  worry  is  contagious,  and  the  men  and  women  who  live 
with  them  find  it  easier  to  live  the  "  faith  life  "  in  place  of 
the  "fear  life." 

Games  and  other  competitive  exercises  are  all  good  in 
their  place,  but  we  have  seen  cases  where  they  have  gen- 
erated what  someone  has  termed  "  mock  worries " ;  that 
is,  there  is  constant  worry  over  the  fear  of  being  beaten  in 
the  contest,  which  produces  much  annoyance  and  harmful 
anxiety. 

The  Golden  Rule.  Do  something  for  your  neighbor  now 
and  then.  Remember  the  Golden  Rule.  Do  not  allow  your 
own  artificial  needs  to  accumulate  unnecessarily  and  demand 
all  your  time.  Reserve  a  little  energy  for  Good  Samaritan 
work,  and  you  will  finish  the  day's  tasks  refreshed  and 
satisfied  instead  of  hungry,  thirsty,  and  dissatisfied. 

To  sum  up:  all  chronic  worriers  should  see  to  it  that  they 
have  the  three  following  things: 

1.  Active  mental  and  physical  employment ;  in  other  words 
"  a  good  job." 

2.  Regular  and  healthful  recreation ;   in  other  words  "  a 
good  fad." 

3.  Suitable   and   regular   spiritual   nourishment;   in   other 
words  "  a  good  religion." 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  30 1 

VI.    FRAUDULENT  MENTAL  THERAPEUTICS,  OR  THE  AP- 
PARENT REMOVAL  OF  WORRY  AND  THE  CURE 
OF  DISEASE  BY  FRAUD  AND  DECEPTION 

In  the  fore  part  of  this  chapter  we  have  endeavored  tt>  out- 
line the  procedures  employed  in  the  treatment  of  the  many- 
phased  and  puzzling  consequences  of  "  fear  thought "  or 
worry.  We  are  aware  that  the  world  is  flooded  with  va- 
rious systems  of  religion  —  Mental  Healing,  Magnetic  Heal- 
ing, Hypnotism,  Mesmerism,  so-called  Divine  Healing,  Sug- 
gestive Therapeutics,  Christian  Science,  New  Thought,  etc., 
etc.  We  are  equally  free  to  confess  that  these  various 
systems  do  apparently  afford  relief  from  many  distressing 
mental  states  and  even  apparently  cure  some  physical 
diseases.  This  is  not  the  place  for  a  full  discussion  of  this 
matter:  that  we  reserve  for  a  future  volume,  but  it  will  not 
be  out  of  place  in  this  connection  briefly  to  sum  up  the 
reasons  why  these  false  systems  of  healing  are  able  to  se- 
cure such  apparently  wonderful  results  in  many  cases. 

How  faith  cures.  The  fundamental  basic  truth  we  have 
already  touched,  namely:  Whatever  removes  fear  and  gen- 
erates faith  yields  certain  physical  results,  regardless  of 
whether  the  teaching  itself  is  true  or  false.  In  this  way 
the  medicine  man  of  the  Hindoos,  the  Chinese,  and  the  In- 
dians, together  with  modern  pretenders  of  healing,  all  ac- 
complish their  results  by  producing  a  state  of  faith  in  the 
mind  of  the  sufferer  in  the  place  of  fear.  This  mental 
attitude  of  faith  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  success  of  all 
these  systems.  The  circulation  of  the  blood,  the  respiration, 
the  digestion,  the  nutrition,  the  nervous  system,  the  secre- 
tions of  the  body,  and  even  the  physical  strength,  are  directly 
influenced  by  this  change  of  mental  state. 

And  so  it  matters  not  so  far  as  the  immediate  physical 
effects  are  concerned,  whether  the  victim  really  believes  in 
Mohammed,  Confucius,  Mrs.  Eddy,  John  Alexander  Dowie, 
or  some  new-fad  religion,  or  a  patent  medicine,  or  any  other 
system  of  teaching,  method  of  treatment,  or  mode  of  living 
—  I  say  it  matters  not,  provided  the  patient  profoundly,  sin- 


302  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

cerely,  and  wholly  believes  it;  there  are  certain  immediate 
effects  upon  the  body  which  are  favorable  to  health,  which 
that  patient  will  surely  experience.  This  is  a  matter  which 
our  own  experiments  and  observations  have  demonstrated 
to  be  true,  and,  did  space  permit,  many  data  could  be 
here  collected  to  prove  this  statement.  But,  as  previously 
stated,  this  matter  will  be  reserved  for  a  future  volume. 

Moral  deception  —  mental  drugs.  Every  new  religion  has 
been  invented  directly  or  indirectly  to  cure  worry  and  its 
consequences ;  and  every  self-respecting  individual  should 
see  to  it  that  he  preserves  his  own  intellectual  freedom  and 
chastity  in  the  effort  to  overcome  worry.  Do  not  resort 
to  these  deceptions  and  delusions.  In  reality  they  are 
mental  drugs  and  will  weaken  and  debilitate  the  mind  just 
as  literal  poisons  will  deteriorate  the  body.  Remember  that 
•while  false  faith  will  bring  a  physical  reward,  it  is  bound  to 
bring  moral  disappointment  and  spiritual  disaster.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  hypnotism  is  only  symptomatic  treat- 
ment; it  does  not  remove  the  cause,  and  all  efforts  of  mind 
healing  which  involve  mental  surrender  to  any  but  a 
Supreme  Being,  are  fundamentally  wrong  and  cannot  afford 
true  and  permanent  relief.  Fraudulent  suggestion  or  men- 
tal deception  is  just  the  same,  no  matter  by  what  name  or 
"  ism  "  it  is  called. 

Just  as  morphine  immediately  relieves  physical  pain,  so 
all  these  cures  are  temporary,  superficial,  and  ungenuine. 

The  various  so-called  faith  cures  may  be  divided  into 
eight  classes  (we  are  not  discussing  genuine  miraculous 
acts)  : 

1.  Prayer  and  gesture  cures. 

2.  Relic  and  shrine  cures. 

3.  Mental  deception  cures. 

4.  Faith,  Christian  Science,  and  allied  cures. 

5.  Spiritualism  or  medium  cures. 

6.  Mesmerism  cures,  where  the  healer  touches  the  patient. 

7.  Hypnotic  trance  cures,  where  the  operator  does  not  touch 

the  patient. 

8.  Direct  faith  healing  by  restoration  of  confidence  and  self- 

control. 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  303 

CHRISTIAN    SCIENCE    CURES. 

We  present  the  following  summary  as  to  the  methods  of 
operation  whereby  Christian  Science  and  other  false  systems 
of  mind-cure  effect  their  apparently  wonderful  healings  and 
create  their  large,  enthusiastic  following: 

1.  They  are  a  popular  protest  against  modern  materialism 
and  rationalism.    The  people  have  grown  weary  of  being  fed 
on  the  husks  of  science.    They  would  rather  believe  that  we 
have  no  bodies  in  this  world  than  go  on  believing  what 
many  scientists  teach,  that  we  have  no  soul  or  existence  in 
the  next  world.    They  would  rather  have  polluted  and  adul- 
terated  spiritual   water   than  be  utterly  denied  the   Water 
of  Life,  whereby  they  might  quench  the  thirst  of  their  souls. 
For  fifty  years  men  of  science  have  hammered  away  at  the 
religious  bulwarks  of  the  people.    They  have  succeeded  in 
breaking  them  down,  and  now,  as  a  result,  we  are  suffering 
from  a  spiritualistic  and  pantheistic  flood. 

2.  These  systems  of  healing  are  an  unconscious  protest 
against  wholesale  drug  medication  and  the  unnatural  treat- 
ment   of    disease.    For    one    hundred    years    doctors    have 
largely  treated  disease  by  drugs,  giving  doses  in  quantities 
that   all   medical   men   now   recognize   as   injurious.     Many 
diseases  formerly  treated  wholly  by  drugs  are  now  treated 
almost    altogether   without   drugs.     It    is    true    the   medical 
profession  is  coming  more  and  more  to  restrict  and  regulate 
the  use  of  drugs  in  the  treatment  of  disease,  but  the  public 
anticipated  them  —  instituted  a  revolt  against  the  old  method 
of  treatment,  and  swung  the  therapeutic  pendulum  away  to 
the   other    extreme  —  thousands   adopting   the   teachings   of 
these  cults  which  declare  disease  to  be  unreal  and  which 
recognize  only  mental  treatment  of  physical  ills. 

3.  These  systems,  particularly  Christian  Science,  are  easy 
to  believe.    They  involve  neither  self-sacrifice  nor  personal 
humiliation ;  they  exalt  erring  man  to  the  place  of  a  God ; 
they  deny  sin  and  make  it  easy  for  the  man  to  respect  him-  ' 
self  as  a  grand  moral  being,   while  giving  free  and  easy 
rein  to  his  natural  inclinations  and  desires. 


304  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

4.  Christian  Science  is  neu>  and  therefore   entertaining. 
It  is  mysterious  and  therefore  fascinating,  and  this   latter 
property  it  will  undoubtedly  ever  retain.     As  its  teachings 
are  unquestionably  unfathomable,  it  will  always  be  surrounded 
by  the  aroma  of  mystery. 

5.  It    affords    immediate    deliverance    from    an    accusing 
conscience.     It    recognizes    neither     sin    nor    wrongdoing. 
Transgression  of  mental,  moral,  or  physical  law  is  unknown 
in    its   teachings.     All   victims   of   worry   over   physical    or 
moral    disease    are,    therefore,    immediately    delivered    from 
their  worries  the  moment  they  believe  its  teaching. 

6.  In  its  teaching  and  philosophy  it  is  nothing  more  or 
less    than    Christianized    pantheism;    that    is,    if    pantheism 
may  be  susceptible  to  being  Christianized.     It  is  simply  an 
old  Eastern  philosophy  clothed  with  the  garb  of  so-called 
Christianity. 

7.  It  prospers  because  it  eliminates  worry.    Although  by 
false  means,  it  does  quite  effectively  eliminate  worry,  tem- 
porarily, at  least,  and  its  devotees  are  therefore  physically 
benefited  by  their  deliverance  for  the  time  being  from  the 
thraldom  of  fear  and  grief. 

8.  Its  teaching,  is  such  as  to  abolish  immediately  all  im- 
aginary diseases,  and  many  of  their  physical  consequences 
sooner  or  later  disappear;  and  since  a  large  percentage  of 
diseases  have  their  origin  in  the  mental  state,  not  an  in- 
considerable number  of  people  are  helped  in  this  way. 

9.  It  chloroforms  reason  and  judgment.    It  is  a  system  of 
blind  belief,  and  while  it  gives  certain  favorable  physical 
effects,  it  results  in  distorting  the  mind,   crippling  reason 
and  judgment,   and  in  many  other  ways  working  against 
the  development  and  strengthening  of  the  mental  faculties. 

10.  It  represents  the  uplifting  power  of  faith  and  strong 
resolution.    It  only  goes  to  show  the  powerful  influence  of 
the  mind   over  the   body  when   thoroughly  dedicated   to   a 
single  idea,  even  though  that  idea  be  essentially  false. 

11.  It  is  a  species  of  mental  deception  which  the  individ- 
ual can  be  taught  to  practise  upon  himself,  and  the  very 


THE  CURE  OF  WORRY  305 

deceptiveness  of  it  constitutes  both  its  charm  and  its  com- 
pelling power  over  those  who  surrender  to  it 

12.  Last,  but  not  least,  many  of  these  systems  of  healing, 
including  Christian  Science,  have  gone  on  in  the  world  in 
spite  of  their  error,  because  they  do  contain  a  grain  of  truth  " 
not  generally  recognized  by  either  scientists  or  religionists 
and  that  is  —  the  influence  of  mind  over  matter. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HYGIENE  AND   SANITATION,  OR  THE  PREVENTION 
OF  DISEASE 

THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE. —  THE  PREDISPOSING  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE. — 
THE  EXCITING  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE. —  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES. — 
HYGIENE  OF  THE  ATMOSPHERE. —  THE  DRINKING  WATER. — CON- 
TAMINATION OF  THE  SOIL. —  HOUSEHOLD  FURNISHINGS. —  THE 
BEDROOM. —  INFECTED  TOILET  ARTICLES. —  PUBLIC  DRINKING  CUPS. 
PROMISCUOUS  KISSING. —  DUST  DANGERS. —  RAW  FOODS. —  PUBLIC 
FUNERALS. —  PUBLIC  LIBRARIES. —  RAILWAY  SEWAGE. 

SANITATION  is  the  science  of  preventing  transmissible 
disease.  Transmissible  diseases  are  the  so-called  infec- 
tious and  contagious  maladies.  If  the  concerted  cooperation 
of  the  human  race  could  be  secured,  it  lies  entirely  within 
the  power  and  possibility  of  man  to  drive  all  "  germ  diseases  " 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  If  the  individuals  composing  the 
race  could  be  induced  personally  to  practise  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  life,  it  would  be  easily  possible  to  eradicate  nine- 
tenths  of  the  so-called  "  functional  diseases  " ;  that  is,  nerv- 
ous, digestive,  and  circulatory  diseases,  and  this  would  leave 
the  race  free  to  contend  largely  with  only  the  diseases  and 
deformities  due  to  heredity,  accidents,  and  the  gradual  ap- 
proach of  old  age,  which  conditions,  for  the  time  being,  we 
are  powerless  to  eliminate  wholly. 

THE   CAUSES   OF   DISEASE 

The  causes  of  diseases  are  classified  as  Predisposing  and 
Exciting. 

I 
PREDISPOSING  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE 

1.  Heredity. 

2.  Race. 

3.  Climate. 

4.  Habits  of  life. 

306 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  307 

II 
EXCITING    CAUSES    OF   DISEASE 

1.  Irritation  or  injury. 

2.  Heat  and  cold. 

3.  Altered  atmospheric  pressure. 

4.  Insufficient  or  disease-laden  air. 

5.  Insufficient   food,  or  starvation. 

6.  Electrical  discharges  —  lightning. 

7.  Poisons. 

(a)  Mineral  poisons. 

(b)  Vegetable  poisons. 

(c)  Germ  poisons. 

(d)  Animal  poisons. 

8.  Germs,  or  vegetable  parasites. 

9.  Animal  parasites. 

THE  PREDISPOSING  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE 

1.  Heredity.    Heredity   probably   has   but   little   influence 
as  an  actual  cause  of  disease.    A  child  may  be  born  with  a 
weakened  nervous  system  or  some  other  physical  deficiency, 
but  outside  of  that  dread  disease,  syphilis,  no  other  known 
disease  is  directly  transmissible  by  heredity  from  parent  to 
offspring.     Scientists  are  coming  more  and  more  to  regard 
disease  as  the  direct  result  of  the  acts  of  the  individual  after 
birth,  or  of  the  influences  which  surround  the  child,  espe- 
cially  during   infancy   and   childhood,   as   well   as   the   im- 
mediate physical  practices  of  the  individual  with  reference 
to  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  working,  etc. 

2.  Race.     Certain   races,   for  varied   reasons,   are  predis- 
posed to  certain    diseases.     The  more  recently  a  disease  has 
made  its  appearance  among  a  given  race,  the  more  fatal  it 
appears  to  be.     Thus,  tuberculosis  is  very  fatal  to  the  Indian 
and  the  negro,  while  the  Jews  are  relatively  immune  from 
this  scourge,  having  been  for  a  long  time  exposed  to  its  in- 
fluence. 

3.  Climate.    Conditions  of  climate  and  altitude  have  some- 
thing to  do  with  rendering  whole  races  of  people  immune 
from,  or  subject  to,  certain  diseases;  but  even  the  question 


308  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

of  climate  has  but  little  influence  upon  the  health  of  the 
human  race  as  compared  with  the  unhygienic  practices  and 
the  unsanitary  surroundings  of  people  who  ordinarily  live 
in  these  so-called  unhealthy  climates. 

4.  Habits  of  life.  It  is  the  long  continued  individual 
practices  or  habits  of  life  that  have  much  to  do  with  causing 
the  body  to  become  either  favorable  or  unfavorable  soil  for 
various  diseases.  Personal  habits  of  living,  as  well  as  racial 
customs,  play  a  very  large  part  in  predisposing  the  body  to 
many  and  varied  physical  afflictions. 

THE   EXCITING   CAUSES   OF   DISEASE 

1.  Irritation  or  Injury.    The  body,  being  a  collection  of 
individual  living  cells,  is  subject  to  disease  if  a  considerable 
number  of  these  cells  are  injured  so  as  either  to  destroy  or 
to  interfere  with  their  life-function.     For  instance,  long  con- 
tinued pressure  interferes  with  the  circulation  and  directly 
leads  to  death  of  the   cells.     If  the  pressure  is  gradually 
applied,  slow  death  or  atrophy  ensues;  when  it  is  quickly 
applied,  we  may  have  immediate  death  or  gangrene.     Other 
forms  of  mechanical  irritation  or  pressure  will  produce  in- 
flammation.    Sharp  instruments  or  sudden  blows  will  pro- 
duce wounds. 

Another  form  of  irritation  to  the  body  is  produced  by 
small  particles  of  dust.  Ordinary  street  dust,  marble  dust, 
coal  dust,  etc.,  find  their  way  into  the  tissues  of  the  lungs  or 
into  other  sections  of  the  body  and  there  produce  disease. 

Falls,  crushing  injuries,  bone  fractures,  etc.,  as  well  as 
rupture  of  internal  organs,  bursting  of  blood-vessels,  and 
other  accidents  met  with  by  land  and  sea,  are  all  grouped  as 
causes  of  diseases  under  this  head. 

2.  Heat  and  cold.    Excessive  heat  may  produce  disease 
and  death  by  its  influence  upon  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
the  nervous  system,  and  by  directly  destroying  the  cells  by 
means    of    coagulation.     Extensive    burns    involving    more 
than  one-third  of  the  body  surface,  are  usually  fatal.    Fever 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  309 

becomes  destructive  of  the  body  itself  when  allowed  to  rage 
furiously  for  a  long  time,  at  a  high  temperature.  The  heat 
of  the  sun,  under  certain  unfavorable  conditions,  causes 
sunstroke. 

Exposure  to  extreme  cold  produces  general  results  very 
similar  to  those  effected  by  high  heat.  Exposure  of  the  skin 
to  liquified  air,  causes  a  local  death  of  tissues,  much  re- 
sembling burns.  Cold  may  produce  in  the  tissues,  condi- 
tions varying  from  chilblain  to  actual  death  of  the  part  from 
freezing.  Cold  is  also  indirectly  concerned  in  producing 
inflammations,  ranging  from  the  common  household  cold 
up  to  rheumatic  and  other  physical  conditions  dependent 
upon  change  in  temperature  and  climate.  However,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  some  immediate  or  exciting  cause  is  con- 
cerned in  these  latter  diseases. 

3.  Atmospheric  pressure.    Increase   of  atmospheric  pres- 
sure, as  in  the  case  of  deep-sea  diving,  may  produce  many 
minor   disturbances    of   the    circulation,   as   well   as   severe 
forms  of  nervous  disease ;  in  the  decrease  of  the  atmospheric 
pressure,  during  the  ascent  of  high  mountains,  there  may  be 
observed  the  ordinary  mountain  sickness,  weakness,  vomiting, 
ringing  of  the  ears,  etc.,  due,  not  only  to  lack  of  oxygen  in 
the  air,  but  also  to  decrease  of  external  pressure  upon  the 
body. 

4.  Insufficient  or  disease-laden  air.    Insufficient  air  pro- 
duces death  by  suffocation,  while  the  disease-laden  air  of 
the  modern  city  is  responsible  for  the  production  of  many 
and  serious  maladies. 

5.  Starvation.    Insufficient   food   or   the   inability   of  the 
body   to   digest   and   assimilate   nourishment  will   result   in 
ultimate  death. 

6.  Electrical    discharges.    Electrical    discharges    varying 
from  those  used  in  the  medical  treatment  of  disease  to  those 
of  the  lightning  stroke,  may  be  responsible  for  local  and 
general  death  of  tissue  cells  and  other  conditions  of  disease. 

7.  Poisons.    A  poison  is  any  substance  which,  when  taken 


310  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

into  the  body  in  relatively  small  doses,  either  disturbs  the 
action  of  the  living  cells  or  destroys  their  life.  This  de- 
struction of  life  may  be  either  sudden  or  gradual. 

Poisons  may  enter  the  body  as  solids,  liquids,  or  gases. 
Their  immediate  effect  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  size  of 
the  dose.  Some  act  quickly,  producing  immediate  death; 
others  act  slowly,  deranging  the  internal  mechanism  of  the 
body  and  producing  death  only  after  long  continued  use. 

Poisons,  when  taken  in  small  doses,  are  largely  burned 
up  in  the  liver.  They  are  afterwards  eliminated  by  the  skin, 
kidneys,  and  bowels. 

(a)  Mineral  poisons  embrace  the  various  acids,  alkalies, 
etc.,  including  carbolic   acid,  the  salts  of  silver,  mercury, 
and  copper.     Many  of  these  substances  destroy  the  cell  by 
abstracting    water    and    producing    coagulation.    Arsenic, 
phosphorus,  and  lead  are  other  common  mineral  poisons. 

(b)  Vegetable  poisons.    There  are  a  great  many  veg- 
etable poisons,  some  of  which  are  commonly  used  as  medi- 
cines, which  are  the  direct  cause  of  certain  physical  dis- 
eases.    Many  of  these  poisons  act  upon  some  special  part  of 
the  body,  deranging  its  functions  and  diseasing  its  structure, 
producing  various  states  of  physical  degeneration.    Tobacco, 
morphine,  opium,  belladonna,   and  hundreds  of  other  com- 
monly used  drugs,  belong  to  this  group. 

(c)  Germ    poisons.    The    toxins    of   the    various    germ 
diseases  such  as  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  etc.,  together  with 
alcohol,  which  is  a  product  of  a  vegetable  organism,  are 
illustrations  of  disease-producing  agencies  belonging  to  this 
group. 

(d)  Animal  poisons.    These  include  the  various  poisons 
found  in  the  cells  of  the  dead  and  putrefying  animal  body. 
They  produce  conditions  varying  from  the  auto-intoxication 
of  the  living  subject,  to  the  serious  blood  poisoning  incurred 
in  the  handling  of  dead  bodies,  or  from  snake  bodies. 

8.  Germs,  or  vegetable  parasites.  These  include  all  the 
various  vegetable  bodies  commonly  called  germs,  which  are 
the  cause  of  the  so-called  contagious  or  infectious  diseases. 


Diphtheria  Germs 


TYphaid  Germs 


Erysipelas 


IM1 


Anthrax 


-=^t     ^ 

^s^   *>». 


FIG  39.~      X?    Group  of  Disease.  Germs. 


H  YGIENE  AND  SAN  IT  A  TION  3 1 1 

The  germs  of  many  of  these  diseases  have  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered, but  the  specific  germs  responsible  for  tuberculosis, 
diphtheria,  pneumonia,  meningitis,  cholera,  lockjaw,  erysip- 
elas, etc.,  are  known  and  have  been  thoroughly  studied,  and 
efforts  have  been  made  to  find  methods  of  effectually  counter- 
working them.  (Fig.  39.) 

9.  Animal  parasites.  Animal  parasites  include  many 
common  scourges  such  as  the  ordinary  itch  mite,  fleas,  bed- 
bugs, lice,  and  also  a  group  of  internal  parasites  which  in- 
fect the  body,  such  as  tapeworm  and  trichina;  these  are  ac- 
quired from  eating  raw  beef  and  pork.  (Fig.  40.) 

CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES 

The  so-called  contagious  or  transmissible  diseases  such 
as  diphtheria,  measles,  mumps,  scarlet  fever,  smallpox,  chick- 
enpox  and  whooping  cough,  are  said  to  be  epidemic  when 
one  person  in  a  thousand  in  a  community  is  stricken.  When 
a  disease  like  influenza  extends  over  several  continents  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  said  to  be  pandemic.  When  an  epidemic 
strikes  a  community,  it  finds  some  persons  who  are  immune 
and  others  who  are  susceptible  to  the  disease.  Immunity  to 
a  disease  may  be  acquired  by  having  experienced  a  previous 
attack,  or  having  had  a  similar  disease,  like  in  the  case  of 
vaccination  producing  cowpox,  and  this  protecting  the  vac- 
cinated individual  against  smallpox.  Or  the  disease  may 
be  fought  by  means  of  antitoxin,  as  in  the  case  of  diphtheria. 
Still  another  method  of  preventing  and  fighting  disease  is 
by  means  of  the  germ  toxins,  which  are  administered  in 
small,  but  increasing,  doses.  This  method  has  been  tried 
with  some  success  in  the  prevention  of  typhoid  fever  and  the 
treatment  of  tuberculosis. 

It  is  certainly  a  mistake  to  expose  small  children  to  any 
of  the  contagious  diseases  of  childhood,  with  the  view  of 
having  them  "  take  the  disease  and  be  through  with  it  when 
they  are  young."  Whooping  cough  may  predispose  to 
pneumonia  and  tuberculosis;  scarlet  fever  may  affect  both 
the  heart  and  the  kidneys;  measles  may  lead  to  serious  dis- 
ease of  the  eyes,  as  well  as  tuberculosis;  while  diphtheria 


312  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

commonly  affects  the  heart  and  kidneys,  and  may  leave  the 
nervous  system  so  crippled  as  to  result  in  paralysis.  Many 
of  these  diseases  are  very  fatal  to  the  infant.  By  means 
of  quarantine,  isolation,  disinfection,  and  every  other  rule 
and  regulation  of  the  modern  Boards  of  Health,  these  dis- 
eases should  be  fought  and  resisted.  The  directions  of  the 
health  officer  and  the  attending  physician  should  be  strictly, 
yea,  conscientiously,  carried  out  in  all  these  matters. 

Modern  medical  research  concerning  the  cause  of  disease 
has  resulted  in  the  production  of  such  a  vast  array  of  scien- 
tific evidence  respecting  the  specific  causes  of  various  dis- 
eases, as  almost  to  destroy  the  old  superstition  which  taught 
that  human  affliction  resulted  from  the  distemper  of  the 
gods,  the  juxtaposition  of  the  stars,  the  phases  of  the  moon, 
or  some  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence. 

While  the  older  and  unscientific  ideas  regarding  the 
"  catching  of  disease "  have  been  largely  dispelled  by  the 
scientific  searchlights  of  the  twentieth  century,  the  newer 
teachings  of  science  regarding  contagion  and  infection  are 
not  fully  grasped  or  thoroughly  understood  by  the  average 
individual  of  to-day. 

The  layman  has,  in  a  general  way  come  to  understand 
that  the  various  communicable  diseases  are  transmitted  from 
one  person  to  another  by  means  of  "  germs "  or  "  para- 
sites " ;  but  the  particular  channels  or  specific  means  where- 
by the  germs  of  disease  are  conveyed  from  one  person  to 
another  and  from  one  locality  to  another,  are  not  as  fully 
understood  as  they  should  be,  to  enable  the  layman  to  co- 
operate intelligentlv  with  the  health  authorities  in  the 
gigantic  struggle  wiach  is  now  being  waged  in  the  arena  of 
hygiene  by  the  trained  forces  of  science  against  the  malig- 
nant forces  of  disease.  This  great  "  health  battle  "  which  is 
now  on,  has  for  its  object  the  prevention  of  disease,  the  pro- 
motion of  health,  and  the  preservation  of  the  race. 

THE   SOIL   OF   DISEASE 

There  are  certain  general  conditions  which  favor  the 
spread  of  contagious  diseases.  These  should  be  first  dis- 


V 


Trichina 


Tape  Warm 


Body  La  use 


/fch  Mitt 


Pound  Worm 


FIG. 40.-     Group  of  Animal  Paras /tes 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  313 

posed  of,  before  we  take  up  the  consideration  of  "disease 
carriers "  for  specific  maladies.  Environment,  sanitation, 
and  climate,  together  with  the  actual  physical  and  mental 
state  of  the  individual,  all  act  as  predisposing  influences  in 
the  "  catching  of  disease." 

1.  Lowered  vital  resistance.    In  a  general  way,  the  human 
body  resists  disease  by  means  of  certain  inherent  and  auto- 
matic agencies  of  self-defence,   which  are   resident  within 
the  body.    The  sum  total  of  these  "fighting  powers"  or 
resisting  measures  of  the  body,  is  spoken  of  as  the  individ- 
ual's "  vital  resistance."    We  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  it  requires  a  "  disease  soil "  as  well  as  a  "  disease  seed  " 
to  produce  the  various  contagious  and  infectious  maladies; 
that  is,  the  germs  of  disease  may  fall  upon  one  individual 
who,  because  of  his  strong  "vital  resistance,"  presents  an 
unfavorable  soil  for  the  growth  and  development  of  these 
germs;  therefore,  he  does  not  take  the  disease.     Some  of 
the  same  group  of  germs  gain  access  to  another  individual 
who,  because  of  his  low  "  vital  resistance,"  presents  a  fa- 
vorable soil  for  the  growth  and  development  of  the  germs 
of  this  particular  disease;  therefore,  this  individual  is  im- 
mediately stricken  down.    And  so  we  repeat:  a  favorable 
soil  is  required  f6r  the  development  of  transmissible  dis- 
eases as  well  as  the  presence  of  the  seed  or  germ  of  the 
disease  itself. 

Ordinarily,  health  is  more  contagious  than  disease,  and 
microbes  are  not  attracted  to  the  perfectly  healthy  individ- 
ual. The  normal  healthy  man  is  mightier  than  the  microbe. 

By  the  cultivation  of  "  vital  resistance "  and  the  proper 
regard  of  sanitary  regulations  on  the  part  of  the  whole  hu- 
man race,  it  is  entirely  within  our  power  to  drive  every 
germ  disease  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  While  it  is  ad- 
vantageous to  understand  fully  the  working  of  various  "  dis- 
ease carriers,"  it  is  equally  important  to  cultivate  a  phys- 
ical constitution  which  is  able  to  withstand  all  ordinary 
"  germ  attacks." 

2.  Unsanitary    surroundings.    Under    this    head    are    in- 
cluded faulty  disposal  of  sewage,  dark  basements  and  damp 


314  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

cellars,  accumulated  rubbish  in  the  back  yard,  bad  plumbing, 
drains,  etc.,  together  with  contaminated  vaults  and  cesspits, 
barnyard  filth,  etc.  All  these  faults  and  errors  of  sanita- 
tion serve  to  increase  the  "  breeding  grounds "  of  various 
disease  germs.  These  same  unhygienic  surroundings  in- 
directly react  to  the  weakening  of  the  individual's  "  vital 
resistance."  But,  after  all,  these  are  rather  "  disease  breed- 
ers "  and  we  are  at  this  time  discussing  "  disease  carriers." 

In  the  battle  against  contagious  diseases,  it  is  absolutely 
essential  that  the  health  authorities  should  have  the  un- 
qualified support  and  conscientious  cooperation  of  every 
person  in  the  community.  The  carelessness  or  indifference 
of  a  single  individual,  or  the  disregard  of  the  health  offi- 
cer's instruction  by  a  single  family,  often  results  in  giving 
a  fresh  start  to  a  smouldering  epidemic,  producing  untold 
suffering  and  much  loss  of  life. 

Considerable  has  been  said  in  the  earlier  portions  of  this 
book  concerning  the  germs  of  disease  and  various  methods  of 
subduing  and  destroying  them.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  sunshine,  fresh  air,  and  cleanliness,  are  the  effective 
weapons  to  use  against  disease  germs.  In  spite  of  all  these, 
the  germs  of  certain  epidemic  and  contagious  diseases  are 
sure  to  fasten  themselves  upon  a  large  percentage  of  indi- 
viduals who  may  be  exposed  to  them.  The  moment  that 
you  suspect  yourself,  or  a  member  of  your  family,  about  to 
be  afflicted  with  a  contagious  disease,  summon  your  physi- 
cian. Even  a  mild  contagious  disease  may  have  serious 
complications,  and  it  is  certainly  unwise  for  parents  to  un- 
dertake to  carry  their  children  through  these  attacks.  To 
do  so  may  be  to  jeopardize  the  future  health  and  welfare  of 
the  child.  It  is  important  that  the  physician's  orders  at 
such  times  should  be  adhered  to  to  the  letter.  The  doctor 
has  a  reason  for  asking  you  to  be  careful  to  prevent  certain 
complications  in  these  common  diseases  of  childhood. 

Further  discussion  or  suggestions  as  to  the  treatment  of 
diseases  will  not  find  place  in  this  work.  They  will  be  re- 
served for  future  consideration. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION 


HYGIENE   OF   THE   ATMOSPHERE 

The  contagion  of  disease  seems  to  be,  in  varied  degree, 
carried  by  means  of  the  breath  and  bodily  excretions  of  the 
patient,  and  in  the  case  of  smallpox  epidemics  it  would 
seem  that,  in  a  limited  degree  at  least,  the  air  must  serve  as 
a  vehicle  for  the  spread  of  the  contagion. 

Ordinarily,  the  air  -contains  only  harmless  bacteria  and, 
when  not  contaminated  with  dust  or  exposed  to  other  germ- 
breeding  sources  of  disease,  is  not  to  be  seriously  regarded 
as  a  "  disease  carrier." 

The  atmosphere  of  the  sick  chamber  is,  of  course,  re- 
garded with  just  suspicion.  Following  sickness  or  death, 
where  there  is  the  slightest  ground  for  suspecting  a  com- 
municable disease,  the  rooms  should  be  promptly  and  thor- 
oughly fumigated.  Formerly,  sulphur  was  regarded  as  an 
efficient  fumigant,  but  at  present  formaldehyde  gas  is  gen- 
erally considered  to  be  superior,  as  it  does  not  harm  the 
furnishings  ;  it  should  be  administered  either  by  the  local 
health  authorities,  or  in  accordance  with  directions  which 
these  officials  will  gladly  furnish. 

Careful  tests  of  air  made  by  special  apparatus  to  deter- 
mine the  number  of  microbes  present,  show  that  the  atmos- 
phere varies  in  this  respect  according  to  location,  country, 
city,  etc.  The  air  ordinarily  contains  from  100  to  1,000 
microbes  per  cubic  metre. 

Outside  of  smallpox,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  atmos- 
phere does  not  act  as  a  direct  "  disease  carrier  "  except  in 
the  case  of  the  severe  epidemics. 

DUST   DANGERS 

The  clouds  of  dust  swept  up  by  the  wind  from  the  streets 
of  city  or  village  are  laden  with  the  germs  of  disease.  Dust 
is  an  enemy  of  human  health  and  happiness.  The  germs  of 
tuberculosis,  pneumonia,  and  other  diseases,  when  in  this 
dry  form,  are  able  to  live  for  a  long  period  and  may  be 
blown  about  promiscuously,  infecting  large  numbers  of  peo- 


316  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

pie.  Public  streets  and  highways  should  be  sprinkled  or 
oiled  wherever  possible,  especially  in  close  proximity  to 
dwellings. 

Household  dust  should  be  avoided  with  equal  care.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  rooms  where  the  sunlight  is  not  per- 
mitted to  have  free  access.  The  dust  of  all  dark  rooms  is 
extraordinarily  dangerous.  The  old-fashioned  feather  duster 
should  find  no  place  in  the  home.  It  is  a  vicious  practice  to 
go  about  stirring  up  the  dust  by  means  of  these  feather 
dusters.  The  atmosphere  is  filled  with  dust  germs,  which 
the  one  who  does  the  dusting  is  compelled  to  inhale.  Fur- 
niture and  woodwork  should  be  dusted  by  means  of  a  dry 
or  slightly  moist  cloth. 

Carpets  belong  to  a  by-gone  age.  They  have  no  place  in 
this  modern  scientific  era.  The  floors  should  be  covered 
with  rugs,  which  can  be  frequently  taken  out  of  the  house 
and  exposed  to  a  purifying  bath  of  sunshine.  The  old- 
fashioned  carpet  tacked  down  to  the  floor  and  removed  but 
once  a  year  at  house-cleaning  time,  is  a  veritable  disease 
breeder  and  death  trap. 

THE   DRINKING   WATER 

Sources  of  water  contamination  and  methods  of  purifica- 
tion were  fully  considered  in  Chapter  XIII. 

Asiatic  cholera  is  almost  invariably  conveyed  by  means 
of  water.  The  bathers  in  the  sacred  river  Ganges,  which  is 
the  everlasting  source  of  this  disease,  drink  the  infected 
water,  and  after  departing  in  various  homeward  directions, 
are  stricken  by  this  terrible  disease.  Proper  quarantine 
regulations  and  a  pure  water  supply  will  forever  keep 
cholera  from  our  midst.  The  majority  of  the  diarrhceal  dis- 
eases of  summer,  both  of  infants  and  adults,  together  with 
typhoid  fever,  cholera  morbus,  and  cholera,  are  largely  mat- 
ters of  food  and  drink.  When  visiting  in  strange  places, 
especially  in  the  country  where  water  is  obtained  from 
wells,  have  it  boiled  before  you  drink  it.  Be  careful  how 
you  eat  unpeeled  fruit  or  unwashed  vegetables  which  have 
been  exposed  to  street  dust  or  exhibited  in  other  public 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  . 

places  of  the  city.  See  that  vegetables  are  thoroughly 
washed  or  cooked  before  eating.  See  that  the  milk  is  fresh ; 
that  it  has  been  kept  on  ice,  so  as  to  prevent  the  undue  de- 
velopment of  germs.  Attend  to  these  matters,  especially 
while  you  are  taking  your  vacation  and  are  exposed  to  new 
and,  .perhaps,  unwholesome  drinking  water  and  other  dis- 
ease dangers.  It  will  not  be  necessary  here  to  repeat  the 
cautions  given  with  regard  to  drinking  water  and  other 
general  phases  of  hygiene  discussed  in  preceding  chapters. 

Ordinary,  pure  well  water,  or  filtered  river  water,  con- 
tains ten  to  three  hundred  germs  per  cubic  centimetre; 
while  unfiltered,  polluted  water  contains  as  high  as  fifty  mil- 
lion microbes  per  cubic  centimetre.  Fortunately,  the  vast 
majority  of  germs  and  animalcule  found  in  drinking  water 
are  relatively  harmless,  and  the  problem  becomes  serious 
only  when  one  or  more  of  the  disease-producing  organisms 
are  found. 

There  is  great  danger  of  spreading  certain  infections 
through  the  use  of  impure  ice.  Freezing  does  not  destroy 
all  germs.  Typhoid  fever  and  other  disease  germs  can  live 
for  months  in  a  cake  of  solid  ice  and  then,  with  the  melting 

of  the  ice,  set  about  their  deadly  work. 
i 

CONTAMINATION   OF   THE   SOIL. 

The  soil  is  literally  swarming  with  germs,  containing  as 
high  as  100,000  little  colonies  or  groups  per  cubic  centi- 
metre in  virgin  earth. 

The  soil  may  contain  various  bacteria  found  in  connec- 
tion with  animal  and  vegetable  decay,  as  well  as  the  eggs 
of  various  worms  which  grow  in  the  human  intestine;  but 
the  most  formidable  and  dangerous  of  the  "  soil  germs " 
are  the  microbes  of  tetanus  (lockjaw)  and  malignant  edema, 
a  rare  but  pernicious  malady.  These  deadly  germs  thrive  in 
the  soil  because  of  the  fact  that  they  grow  without  oxygen  — 
air  kills  them  —  and  this  is  exactly  why  the  doctor  insists 
on  "  keeping  the  wound  open  "  in  case  of  rusty  nail  injuries 
on  the  feet,  and  firecracker  or  toy  pistol  injuries  about  the 
dirty  and  germ-laden  hands  of  the  small  boy  hurt  at  his 


318  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Fourth  of  July  celebration.    The  lockjaw  germ  can't  grow 
if  air  is  present. 

HOUSEHOLD   FURNISHINGS 

In  the  case  of  measles,  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  chicken- 
pox,  etc.,  the  articles  of  furniture,  hangings,  carpets,  bed 
clothing,  personal  clothing,  etc.,  are  all  more  or  less  in- 
fected. Especially  in  typhoid,  all  bed  linen  should  be  thor- 
oughly disinfected  in  a  carbolic  acid  solution  before  being 
sent  to  the  laundry,  or  in  such  other  solution  as  the  local 
health  authorities  or  the  attending  physician  may  direct. 
Even  the  dishes  and  silverware  may  prove  the  means  of 
spreading  infection  to  other  members  of  the  family,  and 
should  be  carefully  disinfected  by  weak  carbolic  acid  or  other 
suitable  solution.  All  bowel  discharges  and  kidney  secre- 
tions of  typhoid  patients  should  be  disinfected  before  enter- 
ing the  sewer. 

The  contagion  of  most  of  these  diseases  seems  to  remain 
active  for  many  years,  and  cases  are  on  record  where  in- 
nocent children  have  been  stricken  down  with  scarlet  fever 
or  diphtheria  contracted  from  the  handling  of  clothing,  shoes, 
or  trinkets,  of  a  brother  or  sister  who  died  of  the  disease 
years  before,  which  the  mother  had  fondly  preserved  in  some 
bureau  drawer  or  other  place  about  the  house. 

The  only  safe  policy  to  pursue  in  case  of  these  contagious 
diseases  is  thoroughly  to  disinfect  everything  connected 
with  the  patient  and  sick  room,  as  well  as  every  article 
handled  during  the  illness,  and  most  carefully  fumigate  the 
room  or  rooms  infected,  at  the  close  of  the  illness. 

In  all  diseases  which  are  characterized  by  a  skin  eruption 
or  "  breaking  out "  and  which  are  subsequently  followed  by 
more  or  less  "  scaling,"  the  patient  should  be  anointed  with 
olive  oil  or  cocoa  butter  every  day  to  prevent  the  falling  off 
of  these  dry  scales  and  their  promiscuous  scattering  about 
the  premises.  The  person  who  is  daily  oiled,  can  have  the 
skin  properly  cleaned  by  a  good  scrubbing  in  connection  with 
the  soap  bath,  without  serious  danger  of  spreading  the  in- 
fection. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  319 

Contagious  diseases  may  be  also  carried  by  means  of  let- 
ters, packages,  presents,  etc. 

THE  BEDROOM 

Ordinarily,  every  night  the  traveller  goes  to  bed,  he  ex- 
poses himself  to  some  new  disease.  While  the  linen  upon 
his  bed  may  be  fresh  and  clean,  his  bed  covering  is  probably 
that  which  has  covered  many  a  consumptive  or  many  a  suf- 
ferer from  a  worse  disease. 

The  carpets  and  other  furnishings  of  the  room,  which 
perhaps  have  not  been  fumigated  in  years,  unless  by  accident 
the  health  officer  has  discovered  contagious  disease  therein, 
are  all  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  travelling  public. 

The  staterooms  of  steamships  and  the  berths  of  the  Pull- 
man sleeping  car  must  all  be  regarded  as  vehicles  for  spread- 
ing disease,  unless  they  are  most  carefully  attended  to  and 
frequently  fumigated.  The  Pullman  Company  has  certainly 
made  commendable  progress  during  the  past  few  years  in 
the  matter  of  disinfecting  and  cleaning  its  cars.  Let  the 
good  work  go  on. 

The  bad  ventilation  of  churches,  lecture  halls,  hotels,  and, 
during  the  winter  season,  the  closeness  of  sleeping  cars  and 
street  cars,  are  all  directly  concerned  in  the  spread  of  disease ; 
this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  deficient  ventilation  encourages 
the  accumulation  of  the  deadly  germs  which  are  transmitted 
by  means  of  the  vitiated  air  found  in  such  places. 

As  the  result  of  insufficient  ventilation,  the  germs  which 
are  directly  the  cause  of  the  various  house  diseases  — 
catarrh,  bronchitis,  pneumonia,  and  tuberculosis,  are  dis- 
seminated on  a  large  scale,  and  thousands  of  people  are 
annually  exposed  to  these  contagions;  all  of  which  could 
easily  be  prevented  by  proper  scientific  ventilation. 

INFECTED   TOILET   ARTICLES 

The  practice  of  more  than  one  individual  using  the  same 
towel  is  responsible  for  the  promiscuous  spreading  of  many 
diseases.  Common  colds,  influenza,  contagious  sore  eyes, 


320  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

and  numerous  skin  disorders  may  be  spread  in  this  way. 
Large  numbers  of  children  at  school  who  have  used  the 
same  towel  for  drying  their  faces,  have  become  infected  with 
contagious  sore  eyes,  commonly  called  "  pink-eye,"  which 
sometimes  proves  to  be  a  very  serious  malady  in  its  results. 
All  toilet  articles  may  serve  to  convey  disease  when  used 
by  a  second  party,  after  having  been  used  by  an  infected 
individual. 

It  should  be  one  of  the  fixed  habits  of  life  to  wash  the 
hands  thoroughly  before  taking  food.  The  hands  of  the 
ordinary  citizen  are  literally  teeming  with  microbes,  varied 
according  to  the  occupation  and  the  exposure  of  the  hands 
to  contaminated  germ-breeding  scources. 

Especially  are  the  finger  nails  a  prolific  source  of  infec- 
tion, polluting  the  body  with  various  disease  germs.  Dirty 
nails  habor  the  germs  of  pus-infection,  lockjaw,  the  eggs  of 
various  worms  which  may  thrive  in  the  digestive  canal  of 
man,  together  with  the  microbes  of  erysipelas,  and  any  other 
germ  to  which  the  hands  have  been  exposed  or  which  were 
present  on  the  materials  handled. 

The  bath  brush,  tooth  brush,  etc.,  even  when  used  by  a 
single  individual,  should  be  exposed  daily  to  sunlight  and 
frequently  sterilized  by  boiling. 

PUBLIC   DRINKING   CUPS 

There  is  plenty  of  evidence  to  warrant  a  severe  indict- 
ment being  drawn  against  the  public  drinking  cup  as  a 
"disease  spreader."  The  diseases  which  possibly  may  be 
spread  about  by  this  means  are  among  the  more  serious 
maladies  affecting  the  human  family,  embracing  tuberculosis 
and  syphilis,  the  two  supreme  scourges  of  the  human  race  — 
the  Great  White  Plague  and  the  Great  Black  Plague. 
The  so-called  "  loving  cup  "  is  a  disgrace  to  modern  civil- 
ization and  should  be  finally  and  forever  banished.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  the  march  of  sanitary  science  will  result, 
ere  long,  in  the  banishment  of  the  public  drinking  cup. 
Every  individual  should  carry  a  small  collapsing  drinking 


'HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  321 

cup  when  travelling  or  when  away  from  home.  The  time 
has  certainly  come  when  the  public  should  understand  that 
syphilis,  the  most  loathsome  of  all  diseases  afflicting  the 
human  family,  may  possibly  be  contracted  from  dishes, 
silverware,  and  drinking  cups.  Every  public  drinking  foun- 
tain, until  such  time  as  the  public  cup  is  banished,  should 
have  conspicuously  posted  the  following  notice: 

Health  Notice. 

Thoroughly  rinse  the  cup  before  drinking,  especially  the 
edges. 

Certain  railway  companies  have  banished  the  public  drink- 
ing cup  from  their  trains,  offering  in  its  place,  individual 
paper  cups.  Let  us  hope  that  all  railroads  and  the  Pullman 
Palace  Car  Co.,  will  immediately  follow  suit. 

Microscopic  examination  of  a  single  public  drinking  glass 
showed  over  20,000  human  epithelial  cells  —  skin  from  the 
mouth  and  lips  —  about  the  edges  of  the  glass,  with  from  100 
to  200.  germs  clinging  to  some  of  the  cells,  and  at  least  10 
germs  fastened  to  the  vast  majority  of  the  cells,  while 
between  the  cells,  thousands  of  bacteria  were  present,  as  a 
result  of  the  saliva  deposited  by  the  drinkers.  Professor 
Davison  reports  100,000  germs  on  every  square  inch  of  a 
glass  examined. 

Tuberculosis  germs  are  found  on  drinking  cups,  and 
severe  epidemics  have  been  traced  directly  to  the  public 
drinking  cup.  Especially  are  cups  or  glasses  having  chip- 
ped or  rough  edges  dangerous.  There  is  positively  no 
excuse  for  the  old-fashioned  communion  cup  formerly  used 
in  churches. 

Those  public  fountains  where  the  water  bubbles  up  into 
a  cup-like  formation  at  the  top  of  an  upright  pipe  and,  after 
running  over  the  sides,  is  caught  by  the  horse-trough  or 
other  waste  receptacle,  are  to  be  commended  for  public  school 
grounds  and  parks,  as  the  constant  outflow  of  water  prevents 
infection,  even  in  case  the  lips  should  touch  the  sides  of  the 
drinking  bowl,  which  is  usually  not  the  case. 


322  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Especially  should  one  be  careful  about  drinking  out  of 
public  cups  when  the  lips  are  dry  or  parched,  or  when  there 
is  present  a  cold  sore  or  other  abrasion  about  the  mouth. 
When  the  mouth  or  lips  are  in  such  a  state,  under  no  cir- 
cumstances should  the  drinking  cup  be  allowed  to  touch  the 
mucous  membrane.  Let  the  cup  rest  directly  under  the 
lower  lip  against  the  unbroken  skin,  and  drink  something 
after  the  fashion  of  a  horse  drinking  out  of  a  trough. 

What  we  are  writing  in  this  connection  applies  with 
peculiar  force  to  the  drinking  glasses  used  about  soda  foun- 
tains and  ice  cream  parlors,  as  well  as  those  employed  in 
saloons  and  other  public  drinking  places,  where  they  are 
only  carelessly  rinsed  in  a  bucket  or  basin  of  dirty  water. 
A  practising  physician  is  constantly  meeting  with  the  sad 
cases  of  innocent  young  men  and  women,  as  well  as  wives 
and  mothers,  whose  life  happiness  has  been  blighted  by  the 
accidental  contraction  of  loathsome  diseases  through  the 
channels  of  the  old-fashioned  loving  cup  and  other  easily 
preventable  means. 

PROMISCUOUS   KISSING 

The  author  does  not  desire  to  start  any  faddish  agitation 
against  the  time-honored  practice  of  osculatory  greeting. 
We  only  desire  to  call  attention  to  certain  disease  dangers 
that  lurk  behind  this  common  practice.  They  are  largely 
the  same  group  as  those  transmitted  by  the  public  drinking 
cup,  to  which  should  be  added  also  tonsilitis  and  other 
diseases  of  the  catarrhal  group,  as  well  as  tuberculosis,  colds, 
syphilis,  etc.  Many  cases  of  the  last  named  disease  are 
clearly  traceable  to  kissing  as  their  vehicle  of  transmission. 
It  is  in  this  way  that  many  innocent  young  women  are  con- 
taminated for  life  as  a  result  of  indulging  in  this  common, 
but  none  the  less  dangerous,  sentimentality. 

The  author  holds  as  particularly  objectionable,  the  common 
practice  of  promiscuously  kissing  the  baby.  If  the  baby  is 
to  be  kissed  by  all  the  friends  and  relatives,  it  would  be 
better  to  kiss  him  on  the  cheek  and  not  directly  in  the  mouth. 
These  little  ones  are  particularly  susceptible  to  mouth  dis- 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  323 

eases  and  infections,  and  it  is  certainly  not  in  keeping  with 
the  spirit  of  hygienic  progress  abroad  in  this  age,  to  allow  one 
and  all  to  kiss  the  little  ones  upon  the  lips.  I  dare  say  that 
the  infant  world,  if  they  knew  of  my  plea  along  this  line 
in  their  behalf,  would  unanimously  accord  me  a  vote  of 
thanks,  although  they  might  be  unable  fully  to  appreciate 
the  hygienic  value  of  my  warning.  We  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  babies  do  not  enjoy  being  smothered  and  kissed 
according  to  the  popular  custom. 

RAW   FOODS 

Raw  fruits,  vegetables,  etc.,  especially  those  which  have 
been  exposed  to  the  street  dust  of  the  city,  may  prove  a 
•prolific  source  of  spreading  typhoid  fever,  diarrhoeal,  and 
other  diseases,  if  eaten  before  they  are  thoroughly  washed 
—  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  raw,  dirty  vegetables  may 
carry  the  eggs  of  numerous  worms  which  infest  the  soil,  and 
which  may  develop  and  grow  in  the  bowel-tract  of  man. 
Make  it  a  rule  either  to  boil,  wash,  or  carefully  pare  the  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables,  especially  the  vegetables,  and  more 
particularly  if  these  things  have  been  exposed  to  city  dust 
and  dirt.  Fresh  fruit  and  vegetables  are  perfectly  safe  when 
pared  or  thoroughly  scrubbed. 

PUBLIC    FUNERALS 

The  disease  dangers  in  connection  with  public  funerals 
are  not  now  so  great  as  formerly  —  thanks  to  our  Board  of 
Health  regulations;  nevertheless,  there  are  many  funerals 
following  various  diseases  more  or  less  contagious,  which 
are  now  permitted  to  be  held  in  public,  which  jeopardize  ' 
the  health  of  those  in  attendance.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
home  funerals,  where  all  the  mourners  are  exposed  to  the 
contagion  of  the  disease  as  found  in  the  death  chamber  and 
other  rooms  of  the  house,  unless  the  same  have  been  thor- 
oughly disinfected  and  properly  fumigated. 

Unless  such  funerals  are  conducted  under  strict  medical 
supervision  and  after  the  premises  are  properly  disinfected, 


324  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

the  author  believes  that  all  funeral  services  where  the  in- 
dividual has  died  of  a  transmissible  disease,  should  be  held 
in  private. 

PUBLIC    LIBRARIES 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  future  investigation  will  dis- 
close the  fact  that  the  books  and  magazines  found  upon 
tables  in  the  waiting-rooms  of  dentists,  physicians,  etc.,  as 
well  as  the  books  and  magazines  of  the  public  libraries,  are 
all  concerned  in  the  spread  of  various  contagious  diseases, 
particularly  certain  skin  diseases.  The  likelihood  of  public 
libraries  acting  as  disease  carriers  is  now  being  taken  into 
serious  account  by  library  officials  in  this  country  and 
Europe;  and  on  the  Continent  experiments  have  been  ex- 
tensively conducted  to  ascertain  the  best  methods  of  dis- 
infecting books.  An  illustrated  article  recently  appeared 
disclosing  several  successful  methods  employed  in  connection 
with  certain  European  libraries,  which  thoroughly  sterilized 
the  books  without  in  any  way  harming  the  paper,  print,  or 
binding. 

RAILWAY    SEWAGE. 

The  present  plan  of  disposing  of  sewage  of  the  travelling 
public  by  allowing  it  to  be  deposited  in  the  open  air  along 
the  highways  of  travel,  is  one  of  the  most  reckless  and 
unsanitary  practices  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Let  us 
suppose  a  case  by  no  means  out  of  the  ordinary:  an  in- 
dividual starting  on  a  transcontinental  tour,  afflicted  with 
some  form  of  dysentery  or  some  other  diarrhoeal  disease  or 
perhaps  in  the  earlier  stages  of  typhoid  fever,  boards  a  train. 
The  nature  of  the  disease  is  such  as  to  produce  frequent 
bowel-action  for  several  days.  In  this  way,  a  single  patient 
whisked  across  the  country  by  the  limited  expresses,  more 
or  less  infects  the  entire  length  of  this  highway  of  travel. 
Within  a  few  days  these  infectious  bowel  discharges  have 
become  more  or  less  dried  and,  in  the  form  of  dust,  easily 
whisked  up  by  passing  trains  to  be  inhaled  by  the  passengers 
or  deposited  upon  drinking  cups  or  the  food  and  dishes  of 
the  dining  car,  to  be  subsequently  eaten.  The  only  reason 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  325 

infections  from  this  cause  are  not  greater,  is  probably  due 
to  the  sterilizing  powers  of  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  which 
kill  large  numbers  of  the  disease  microbes.  The  time  is 
ripe  to  begin  an  educational  campaign,  that  the  public  may 
fully  understand  that  the  railroads  are  maintaining  an  "  open 
sewer  "  along  their  right  of  way.  Careful  and  conservative 
estimates  of  the  quantity  of  human  excrement  deposited 
along  the  highways  of  travel  in  the  United  States  place  it 
at  about  100  pounds  per  mile  per  year.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  various  rivers  crossed  by  the  railroads  are  in 
danger  of  contamination  from  this  source,  and  the  only 
thing  which  prevents  this  "  open  sewer "  from  becoming  a 
crying  nuisance  is  the  fact  that,  except  in  the  case  of 
tunnels,  the  road  bed  lies  in  the  open  and  therefore  all 
excrement  deposited  from  the  passing  train  is  soon  subjected 
to  the  powerful  germicidal  action  of  the  sun's  rays. 

COUNTRY    CLOSETS 

In  this  connection  let  us  emphasize  the  importance  of 
carefully  and  thoroughly  screening  all  privy  vaults  and  out- 
houses in  the  smaller  towns  and  country  places  where  no 
sewer  system  is  in  use.  This  is  imperative,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  summer  bowel  disorders  by  means  of 
flies.  This  matter  will  some  day  be  taken  seriously,  and 
vigorously  enforced  by  the  local  health  authorities.  The 
disease-laden  contents  of  the  vault  are  not  exposed  to  the 
sterilizing  action  of  the  sun's  rays,  and  must,  therefore,  be 
seriously  regarded  as  a  menace  to  health. 

In  the  country  as  well  as  in  small  towns  and  villages, 
where  sewer  connections  are  not  available,  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  install  the  "  dry  earth  "  system  of  water 
closet.  Gather  up  a  box  or  barrel  of  dry  pulverized  dust, 
from  the  public  highway.  The  dust  from  the  wheel  ruts 
is  the  best,  being  finely  pulverized.  A  good  supply  should 
be  procured  during  the  dry  weather  so  as  to  have  plenty  on 
hand  in  case  of  rain.  These  boxes  of  dust  may  be  con- 
veniently placed  in  the  closet  and  by  means  of  a  small  fire- 
shovel,  a  quantity  of  this  dry  earth  is  sprinkled  into  the 


326  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

vault  several  times  a  day  and  this  way  all  odors  are  de- 
stroyed. And  even  in  the  case  of  unscreened  vaults,  the 
flies  are  largely  prevented  from  gaining  access  to  infected 
material  by  this  simple  precaution. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION,  OR  THE  PREVENTION 

OF  DISEASE 

(Continued) 

FLIES  AS  DISEASE  CARRIERS. —  THE  SLEEPING  SICKNESS. —  MOSQUI- 
TOES  AND  DISEASE. —  RATS,  FLEAS,  AND  BEDBUGS. —  ANIMALS  AND 
PARASITES. —  DISEASED  DAIRY  PRODUCTS. —  OYSTERS  AND  SEA  FOOD. 

—  DOMESTIC   PETS. —  CARELESS    SPITTING   AND    TUBERCULOSIS. — 
HOW  TO  PREVENT  CONSUMPTION. —  HOW  TO  CURE  CONSUMPTION. 

—  DISINFECTANTS  AND  DEODORIZERS.—  QUARANTINE  AND  ISOLA- 
TION.—  THE    DELUSION     OF    DRUGS. —  PATENT     MEDICINES. —  THE 
CITY    SLUMS. 

v 

WE  can  no  longer  consider  the  ordinary  house  fly  as  a 
harmless  nuisance  or  regard  it  merely  as  a  pest. 
This  little  insect  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  animals  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  as  regards  the  health  and  happiness  of  the 
human  race.  Flies  feed  and  flourish  on  every  form  of  filth. 
They  carry  the  deadly  germs  of  disease  by  the  millions  on 
their  feet.  From  500  to  20,000  germs  of  typhoid  fever  and 
other  summer  diarrhceal  diseases  have  been  found  on  one 
foot  of  a  single  fly,  and  the  fly,  it  should  be  remembered,  has 
a  half-dozen  feet.  (Fig.  41.) 

FLIES   AS   DISEASE   CARRIERS 

The  house  fly  ought  to  be  called  the  "  typhoid  fly "  but 
for  the  serious  fact  that  it  is  also  the  means  of  carrying  and 
communicating  almost  a  dozen  other  forms  of  disease. 

Flies  are,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  filthy  insects.  They 
eat  and  drink  in  every  known  place  of  filth  and  disease  from 
the  cesspit  to  the  vault.  They  devour  the  tuberculosis  sputum 
by  the  wayside  and  hold  their  banquets  in  the  garbage  heap. 

327 


328  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

On  the  soiled  diapers  about  the  nursery,  or  the  discharging 
wounds  of  the  surgical  patient,  the  flies  will  swarm,  and 
carry  the  germs  of  infection  throughout  the  neighborhood. 

When  a  fly  falls  in  a  pitcher  of  milk  or  is  found  in  other 
food,  it  may  be  quite  easy  to  fish  out  the  dead  or  dying 
insect,  but  remember  that  you  are  unable  to  fish  out  the 
million  of  deadly  disease  germs  which  the  fly  washed  off 
his  feet  in  the  milk  or  wiped  off  on  the  food. 

The  only  safe  course  is  to  screen  the  house  thoroughly 
and  early;  carefully  protect  all  food;  go  to  work  in  earnest 
to  destroy  the  fly's  breeding  grounds;  have  the  garbage  can 
covered;  have  the  garbage  daily  or  frequently  removed; 
keep  the  garbage  cans  clean  —  either  scald  with  hot  water 
or  add  a  little  chloride  of  lime  twice  a  week;  have  manure 
heaps  promptly  removed  or  kept  covered  in  tight  boxes  or 
pits,  so  securely  that  flies  cannot  gain  access  to  them;  de- 
stroy or  remove  all  other  heaps  of  rubbish  and  garbage; 
for  if  all  filth  can  be  removed,  flies  will  be  robbed  of  their 
breeding  grounds. 

Flies  which  have  feasted  upon  tuberculosis  sputum  have 
been  found  to  deposit  3,000  tubercle  germs  with  each  fly 
speck,  and  every  fly  is  estimated  to  make  about  25  specks  a 
day.  Thousands  of  people  who  are  horrified  on  discovering 
a  bedbug  in  the  house,  are  indifferent  to  flies  as  they  swarm 
about  the  food  throughout  the  kitchen,  crawl  over  the  face 
and  lips  of  the  sleeping  baby,  and  expose  the  entire  family 
to  the  contrattion  of  any  contagious  disease  that  may  be 
within  half  a  mile  of  their  dwelling  place.  It  is  time  that 
we  awaken  to  the  fact  that  mosquito  bars  and  screens  are 
cheaper  than  doctors'  bills  and  funerals. 

Of  the  insects  invading  the  house,  over  95  per  cent  are 
the  "  ordinary  house  fly  " ;  the  remaining  5  per  cent  include 
the  stable  fly,  the  flies  which  bite  just  before  showers;  the 
blue-bottle  or  blow  flies,  which  commonly  lay  their  eggs  on 
fresh  or  decaying  meat ;  together  with  the  small  window 
and  fruit  flies.  These  small  flies  are  not  small  house  flies 
• — they  are  another  species. 

Many  house  flies  live  all  winter  in  some  crack  in  the 


Ijalahn  plate,  over  which 
a  house  fly  has  walked. 


Larva   of  the  house  fly. 


Fly  on  piece  of  spongecake. 


Adult  housefly 


Fl  G .  4  I .  -    Flies  as  disease  carriers. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  329 

wall  or  in  some  other  sheltered  place,  in  a  sort  of  benumbed 
state,  until  the  warm  spring  days,  when  they  are  dis- 
covered buzzing  about  the  windows. 

It  requires  only  about  twelve  days  for  a  'full  grown  fly 
to  develop  from  the  egg.  The  female  fly  is  estimated  by 
various  authorities  to  lay  from  100  to  1,000  eggs  during  the 
season. 

Let  us  suppose  that  each  female  lays  only  100  eggs  and 
that  one-half  her  offspring  are  females.  This  would  give  us 
50  adult  egg-laying  females  at  the  end  of  the  first  generation 
or  in  twelve  days  from  the  time  the  eggs  were  laid  by  the 
first  female  fly.  At  this  same  rate,  by  the  eighth  generation 
or  near  the  season's  close,  there  would  spring  from  this 
one  original  female  fly,  billions  of  adult  flies ;  but  even  if  we 
should  allow  for  the  destruction  and  death  of  a  very  large 
part  of  the  females  all  along  during  the  season,  we  would 
still  have  a  prodigious  number  of  offspring  produced  by  a 
single  fly  in  a  single  season ;  and  these  estimates  do  not  in- 
clude an  equal  number  of  male  flies  which  are  just  as  active 
as  the  females  in  spreading  disease. 

Manure  has  been  found  to  contain  as  high  as  2,400,000 
developing  flies  to  the  ton. 

How  to  kill  files.  Flies  are  more  easily  prevented  than 
killed.  Their  breeding  grounds  are  very  easily  removed ; 
and  they  are  easily  destroyed  in  the  form  of  maggots,  for 
all  flies  are  maggots  before  they  are  flies.  If  through  care- 
lessness or  faulty  screening,  flies  do  gain  access  to  the  house, 
they  may  be  destroyed  in  the  following  ways: 

1.  Fly  traps  of  various  designs  are  on  the  market,  many 
of  which  are  very  effective  in  entrapping  these  insects. 

2.  Sticky    fly    paper.     This    means    will    be    found    quite 
effective  in  helping  to  eradicate  the  pest  in  the  house  that 
has  been  tardily  screened. 

3.  Fly   poisons.     The   following  will   be   found  useful  in 
killing  flies.     Place  two  teaspoonsful  of  ordinary  formalde- 
hyde in  a  pint  of  slightly  sweetened  water  and  put  in  a  shal- 
low dish  where  the  flies  are  thickest. 

But  most  of  these  fly  poisons  are  equally  poisonous  to  the 


330  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

baby  and  the  children  about  the  house.  The  following  fly 
poisons  will  be  found  useful  in  killing  flies,  but  will  not 
kill  the  baby: 

Bichromate  of  potash 2  drams. 

Dissolve   in   water    3  or  4  ounces. 

Sweeten  with  plenty  of  sugar. 

Expose  to  the  flies  in  a  plate  or  other  shallow  dish. 

How  to  prevent  Hies,  After  all,  the  safest  and  sanest 
method  of  fighting  flies  is  to  labor  for  their  prevention,  and 
this  is  brought  about  by  general  cleanliness.  Keep  the 
house  and  premises  sweet  and  clean.  Specific  suggestions 
may  be  made  as  follows : 

1.  Sprinkle   chloride   of   lime   over   privy  vaults,   manure 
piles,  and  other  piles  of  refuse,  if  they  cannot  be  immediately 
burned  or  removed. 

2.  Keep  garbage   cans  tightly  covered ;   empty  and   clean 
daily,  or  at  least  three  times  a  week. 

3.  Keep  manure  in  closed  boxes  or  covered  pits.     Remove 
no  less  than  twice  a  week. 

4.  Pour  kerosene  into  any  suspected  drains  or  sinks. 

5.  Keep    the    house    and    yard    absolutely    clean.     Admit 
fresh  air  and  sunshine. 

THE   SLEEPING   SICKNESS 

Sleeping  sickness,  known  as  a  fatal  disease  occurring 
among  the  negroes  of  tropical  West  Africa,  has  within  the 
past  five  years  been  almost  certainly  shown  to  be  trans- 
mitted by  the  tsetse  fly.  During  slavery  days  in  America 
and  the  West  Indies,  the  sickness  was  occasionally  imported 
to  the  Western  Hemisphere  by  negroes  sold  into  slavery, 
but  it  never  spread  to  individuals  born  outside  of  Africa, 
the  necessary  intermediate  host  and  distributor  of  the  dis- 
ease, the  tsetse  fly,  being  lacking.  With  the  exploration  and 
the  commercial  opening  up  of  the  African  continent,  the 
disease  wandered  from  its  original  area,  extending  along  the 
Congo  River  and  in  other  directions,  so  that  to-day  it  is  not 
only  common  throughout  the  Congo  Free  State,  but  threat- 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  33! 

ens  Egypt  as  well,  having  recently  invaded  the  Nile  Valley. 
In  portions  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  notably  the  Victoria 
Nyanza  Lake  region,  it  is  epidemic  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  entire  population  of  many  villages  has  been  destroyed 
and  the  country,  in  areas,  is  practically  depopulated. 

The  trypanosome  causing  this  disease  is  transmitted  by 
the  tsetse  fly  and  by  it  only. 

MOSQUITOES   AND   DISEASE. 

The  blame  for  carrying  both  malaria  and  yellow  fever 
has  been  conclusively  fastened  upon  the  mosquito.  One 
particular  species  carries  malaria.  Biting  an  individual 
afflicted  with  this  disease,  it  takes  a  parasite  into  its  system, 
which  subsequently  burrows  into  the  wall  of  its  stomach, 
and  there  goes  through  a  cycle  of  development,  from  which 
its  eggs  are  carried  to  the  salivary  glands  and,  in  the  act 
of  biting  the  healthy  individual,  they  are  injected  into  his 
blood,  where  they  hatch  out  after  a  certain  number  of 
hours,  flooding  the  system  with  the  plasmodium  parasite  and 
its  poisons,  thereby  bringing  on  the  unpleasant  attacks  of 
alternating  chills  and  fever. 

The  study  of  yellow  fever  in  Cuba  thoroughly  demon- 
strated that  it  was  transmitted  by  a  species  of  mosquito, 
the  same  as  malarial  fever ;  and  the  destruction  of  mosqui- 
toes has  practically  driven  yellow  fever  out  of  Havana, 
which,  until  recently,  was  regarded  as  its  home. 

As  in  the  fighting  of  flies,  the  diseases  transmitted  by  the 
mosquito  are  best  fought  by  directing  efforts  against  its 
breeding  places,  and  by  effectually  screening  all  dwelling 
places  against  the  entrance  of  mosquitoes,  and  especially 
protecting  patients  afflicted  with  malaria  or  yellow  fever, 
from  the  mosquito. 

Many  experiments  have  been  made  to  determine  how  best 
to  destroy  mosquitoes  and  their  breeding  grounds.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  they  breed  in  warm  weather  wherever 
stagnant  water  is  found,  whether  it  is  in  the  marsh,  the  pond, 
or  the  rain  barrel.  Ordinary  coal  oil  or  kerosene  has  been 
found  to  be  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  destroying 


332  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

these  insects  and  their  eggs.  Kerosene  poured  upon  the 
surface  of  stagnant  pools  or  rain  barrels  will  destroy  and 
effectually  prevent  the  breeding  of  mosquitoes  for  about 
two  weeks.  Proper  drainage  of  the  city  streets  and  of 
the  country  swamps  will  be  found  the  most  effective  means 
of  preventing  the  production  of  mosquitoes  and,  incidentally, 
the  prevention  of  malaria  and  yellow  fever.  It  had  long 
been  observed  that  epidemics  of  yellow  fever  always  de- 
creased with  the  first  frost.  This  was  simply  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  frost  destroyed  the  mosquito,  which  had  carried  the 
fever  from  one  person  to  another. 

RATS,    FLEAS,    AND    BEDBUGS 

It  is  now  pretty  thoroughly  demonstrated  that  both  rats 
and  fleas  are  concerned  in  the  spread  of  the  bubonic  plague 
—  an  old-time  scourge  that  was  dreaded  by  all  nations. 
From  eating  the  corpses  of  the  victims  of  plague  and  in  other 
ways,  the  rat  infects  himself  with  this  disease.  These  in- 
fected rats  are  carried  from  port  to  port,  from  continent  to 
continent,  by  means  of  ships.  Fleas  infest  these  rats,  suck 
their  blood,  and  subsequently  bite  human  beings  and  infect 
them  with  this  deadly  disease.  (Fleas  also  have  been 
charged  with  spreading  typhus  fever  and  leprosy.)  Fleas 
and  rats  are  no  doubt  concerned  in  other  mischief  as  regards 
the  spread  of  disease,  but  with  this  much  knowledge  at 
hand,  it  behooves  every  civilized  nation  to  instigate  a 
thorough  war  on  rats,  and,  if  possible,  eradicate  these  pests, 
who  have  proven  themselves  to  be  the  agency  for  the  spread 
of  this  terrible  plague. 

It  is  now  stated  that  the  ground-squirrels  are  a  menace; 
that  they  may  take  the  germs  of  bubonic  plague  from  rats, 
and  make  it  endemic  in  California.  The  only  real  remedy 
there  seems  to  be  is  persistent  war  on  rats  till  all  are  de- 
stroyed. 

The  ordinary  household  bedbug  is  not  unlikely  a  guilty 
party  to  the  spread  of  disease,  but,  like  the  fly,  until  very 
recently  it  has  escaped  the  attention  of  the  detectives  of 
science;  yet,  from  our  present  knowledge  of  the  role  of 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  333 

various  insects  and  pests  in  the  causation  of  disease,  we 
must  come  to  regard  this  blood-sucking  insect  with  grave 
suspicion.  The  bedbug  has  been  seriously  charged  with 
spreading  smallpox;  while  body  lice  are  blamed  for  carry- 
ing typhoid  and  relapsing  fevers. 

A  prominent  English  physician  has  written  a  book  trying 
to  prove  that  leprosy  is  contracted  from  eating  certain 
kinds  of  fish. 

ANIMALS   AND    PARASITES 

Ordinary  parasites  attaching  themselves  to  man  are  the 
itch  mite,  screw  worm,  leeches,  lice,  etc.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  bodily  cleanliness  and  usual  care  suffice  to  prevent 
these  parasites.  Head  lice  are  best  combated  by  means  of 
a  coal  oil  shampoo.  Itch  mites  are  destroyed  by  repeated 
scrubbing  with  a  rough  brush  and  green  soap,  followed  by 
an  application  of  sulphur  ointment. 

Recently  it  has  been  discovered  that  an  ordinary  tick 
living  upon  certain  animals  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region 
is  able  to  impart  the  so-called  Rocky  Mountain  sickness  or 
fever,  when  it  bites  human  beings. 

Another  group  of  parasites  find  their  way  into  the  inside 
of  the  body,  living  in  the  digestive  canal  or  burrowing  into 
the  muscles.  These  are  the  echinococcus  (dog  tapeworm), 
the  trichina,  the  amoeba  of  tropical  dysentery,  the  tapeworm, 
round  worm,  pin  worm,  hook  worm,  etc.  Many  of  these 
worms  are  swallowed  by  persons  while  in  bathing.  Un- 
der no  circumstances  should  bath  water,  in  either  pools  or 
lakes,  ever  be  admitted  to  the  mouth.  Some  of  the  parasites 
are  secured  from  raw,  unwashed,  and  uncooked  vegetables 
and  fruit;  some  of  them  are  also  gotten  from  handling  cats 
and  dogs.  Special  care  should  be  used  about  touching  these 
domestic  pets  at  meal  time. 

Trichina  is  a  little  animal  which  is  found  in  hog  flesh, 
fish  flesh,  and  probably  in  the  flesh  of  certain  fowls.  It 
finds  its  way  into  the  muscles,  where  it  develops,  producing 
great  misery  and  occasionally  death.  The  tapeworm  is  se- 
cured from  eating  beef  and  also  from  other  forms  of  flesh. 


334  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

It  is  certainly  a  grave  danger  to  eat  either  raw  pork  or  rare 
beef.  Rats  burrow  into  graveyards  and  eat  the  corpses  of 
infected  human  beings,  as  well  as  other  animals  affected  with 
trichina.  These  rats  are  eaten  by  hogs,  and  the  hogs  are 
in  turn  eaten  by  man.  In  this  way,  the  cycle  of  infection 
is  maintained  for  this  disease. 

That  the  flesh  of  animals  serves  as  a  means  of  conveying 
diseases  to  man,  has  long  been  recognized.  It  is  extremely 
difficult  for  either  State  or  Federal  authorities  properly  to 
examine  and  inspect  the  meat  supply  of  the  country.  For 
instance,  pork  was  never  examined  for  trichina  except  in 
the  case  of  that  which  was  exported,  and  even  this  exami- 
nation was  discontinued  in  1906.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to 
find  these  parasites  even  when  the  pork  is  carefully  exam- 
ined, so  it  would  appear  that  thorough  cooking  is  the  only 
safeguard  for  the  pork  eater.  We  quote  as  follows  from  a 
recent  letter  from  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  In- 
dustry, U.  S.  Government: 

"  In  numerous  instances  trichinous  pork  has  been  micro- 
scopically examined  as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  times  be- 
fore the  parasites  were  found,  and  as  it  is  utterly  imprac- 
ticable to  make  so  many  examinations  of  such  carcasses,  the 
unreliability  of  the  inspection  should  be  obvious.  The 
government  mark  '  U.  S.  Inspected  and  Passed '  does  not 
guarantee  that  the  pork  is  free  from  trichina,  and  it  is  there- 
fore recommended  that  in  all  cases  pork  should  be  thor- 
oughly cooked  or  cured  before  it  is  used  for  food." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  animals  slaughtered  for  food 
are  likely  to  be  affected  with  such  a  variety  of  diseases  from 
tuberculosis  down,  we  would  strongly  urge  upon  all  thor- 
oughly to  cook  all  flesh  foods.  The  practice  of  eating  rare 
.  and  partially  done  meats  is  exceedingly  dangerous  and 
should  be  generally  abandoned. 

The  "  liver-fluke  "  disease,  prevalent  in  Japan  and  Egypt, 
is  usually  secured  from  infected  drinking  water;  while 
hydatid  cyst  (echinococcus  disease)  is  secured  from  the 
dog,  and  is  seldom  found  outside  of  Iceland  an«!  other 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  335 

countries  where  dogs  and  their  masters  live  closely  to- 
gether. 

The  "  hook  worm,"  a  parasite  attaching  itself  to  the  walls 
of  the  bowel,  is  probably  secured  by  taking  the  eggs  or 
embryos  along  with  the  food  contaminated  with  dirt 
and  refuse.  This  disease  recently  has  been  discovered  to  be 
quite  prevalent  in  the  Southern  States.  It  has  a  tendency 
to  "  die  out "  if  new  infections  do  not  occur.  It  would  seem 
that  this  parasite  is  actually  able  to  penetrate  the  skin,  and 
an  individual  may  be  infected  by  handling  soil  or  other 
objects  contaminated  with  these  animals.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  the  "hook  worm"  is  responsible  for  the  anaemia 
and  general  weakness  exhibited  by  such  large  numbers  of 
the  poorer  whites  and  also  by  the  negroes  throughout  the 
Southern  States. 

Horses,  cows,  etc.,  frequently  communicate  disease  to  man. 
Glanders,  a  most  fatal  disease,  can  be  secured  from  the 
horse,  or  from  handling  the  hides  of  animals  that  have  died 
of  the  disease. 

DISEASED   DAIRY    PRODUCTS 

Milk  is  the  germ's  paradise.  There  are  few  known  sub- 
stances in  which  the  majority  of  disease  germs  will  grow 
better  and  faster  than  in  ordinary  cow's  milk  which  is  not 
placed  on  ice  immediately  after  milking  and  kept  there. 
Whole  epidemics  of  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  etc.,  as  well  as 
typhoid  fever  and  other  of  the  summer  diarrhoeal  diseases, 
have  been  traced  to  a  single  infected  milk  supply,  or  to  one 
infected  milk  depot.  Butter  may  also  serve  as  a  disease 
carrier,  for,  as  it  is  ordinarily  sold  on  the  market,  it  is 
teeming  with  untold  millions  of  microbes. 

Carelessly  handled  city  milk  is  frequently  found  to  con- 
tain from  3,000,000  to  5,000,000  germs  to  the  cubic  cent- 
imetre. By  proper  legal  regulation  requiring  the  keeping 
of  milk  on  ice,  as  well  as  enforcing  cleanliness  in  con- 
nection with  the  processes  of  milking,  stabling,  storage,  etc., 
the  number  of  bacteria  can  easily  be  reduced  to  100,000  or 


336  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

200,000  per  cubic  centimetre,  the  latter  number  being  the 
largest  number  permitted  by  some  cities. 

Butter  made  from  creamery  products  is  found  to  contain 
fewer  germs  when  fresh  than  the  butter  made  from  milk 
and  cream  which  have  been  allowed  to  sour  under  varying 
and  unfavorable  circumstances.  Sterilizing  the  cream  be- 
fore making  butter  insures  a  product  containing  the  least 
possible  number  of  microbes  and  is  called  "  sterilized  butter." 

Ice  cream  is,  in  a  measure,  subject  to  the  same  dangers  in 
relation  to  disease  as  milk,  for  the  freezing  in  no  way  de- 
stroys the  germs  of  disease,  although  it  does  greatly  inter- 
fere with  the  rapid  development  and  multiplication  of  the 
microbes. 

OYSTERS   AND   SEA   FOOD. 

There  is  little  doubt  at  the  present  time  that  oysters  may 
serve  as  a  direct  means  of  communicating  typhoid  fever. 
The  living,  deadly  germs  of  this  disease  are  frequently  found 
in  the  oyster's  body,  and  numerous  cases  and  outbreaks  of 
this  disease  are  on  record,  which  have  been  carefully  traced 
to  oysters  as  their  source.  It  may  be  subsequently  dis- 
covered that  other  shell  fish  and  water  animals  of  more  or 
less  scavenger  character  are  also  guilty  of  conveying  this 
bacillus  to  the  body,  when  they  are  eaten  as  food. 

DOMESTIC   PETS. 

Cats  and  dogs,  when  kept  in  the  house,  must  sooner  or 
later  become  diseased.  They  will  be  affected  with  tuber- 
culosis, if  nothing  else.  While  these  animals  are  very  ac- 
ceptable companions  of  children  in  their  outdoor  life  and 
play,  they  are  questionable  as  household  pets.  Diphtheria 
and  scarlet  fever  are  charged  up  as  being  communicated  by 
these  animals  —  also  tuberculosis,  while  there  are  several 
forms  of  parasites  —  common  worms  —  which  infest  the  in- 
testines of  man  and  which  are  frequently  secured  from  these 
animals.  Especially  is  it  dangerous  to  allow  children  —  or 
adults  for  that  matter  —  to  pet  these  animals  while  at  table 
eating.  If  you  touch  the  domestic  pets  at  meal  time,  or  if. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  337 

the  dog  or  cat  licks  your  hand  at  the  table,  go  and  wash  be- 
fore continuing  the  meal.  The  eggs  of  various  intestinal 
worms  are  frequently  taken  into  the  body  in  this  way. 

Mad  dogs  carry  the  organisms  and  poisons  of  hydrophobia. 
The  public  is  becoming  aroused  to  sense  the  grave  dangers  of 
this  disease,  and  the  stray  dog  on  the  city  streets  is  destined 
soon  to  be  regulated  out  of  existence.  But  it  may  be  of 
interest  in  this  connection  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
there  is  very  little  more  of  hydrophobia  and  mad  dogs  during 
the  so-called  "  dog  days "  than  at  any  other  season  of  the 
year.  When  bitten  by  a  dog  or  any  other  animal,  go  at  once 
to  a  physician  and  have  the  wound  treated.  Keep  the 
animal  under  observation  —  don't  shoot  it  —  and  if  it  ex- 
hibits symptoms  of  the  disease,  kill  it  and  take  the  patient 
at  once  to  the  nearest  Pasteur  Institute  for  treatment. 

CARELESS  SPITTING   AND   TUBERCULOSIS 

Physicians  no  longer  look  upon  tuberculosis  as  an  incur- 
able disease.  We  now  know  that  fresh  air,  sunshine,  and 
careful  feeding,  together  with  cold  baths  and  graduated 
exercise,  are  able  to  restore  the  majority  of  cases  of  early 
tuberculosis  back  to  health.  The  public  should  understand 
that  the  same  methods  which  cure  tuberculosis  will  prevent 
it.  From  earliest  infancy  to  old  age,  the  hygiene  of  the  lungs 
and  skin  should  be  studied  with  a  view  to  maintaining  their 
healthy  activity  and  thus  preventing  consumption. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  consumption  is  responsible 
for  more  deaths  than  almost  any  other  two  diseases.  Of  the 
ten  great  causes  of  death  —  tuberculosis,  pneumonia,  nervous 
diseases,  heart  diseases,  bladder  diseases,  digestive  diseases, 
accidents,  cancer,  typhoid  fever,  and  suicide  —  tuberculosis 
is  the  greatest  of  all.  Yellow  fever  is  regarded  as  a  great 
scourge,  yet  during  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  the 
deaths  from  yellow  fever  in  the  United  States  have  been  only 
100,000,  while  last  year  (1909)  there  were  150,000  deaths 
from  tuberculosis  in  the  United  States.  x 

Tuberculosis  is  the  most  universal  disease-scourge  of  the 
human  race.  It  is  never  inherited.  It  is  produced  by  the 


338  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

tubercle  germ  ard  is  taken  into  the  body  through  the  air 
we  breathe  or  the  food  we  eat.  It  may  be  secured  from  the 
poison-laden  air  of  the  foul  dwelling  or  crowded  city  tene- 
ment. Intestinal  tuberculosis,  it  is  believed,  can  be  con- 
tracted from  drinking  the  milk  and  eating  the  flesh  of  animals 
having  tuberculosis.  It  is  a  preventable  disease  and,  if  taken 
in  time,  can  be  cured. 

Houses  become  infected  with  tuberculosis.  We  have 
known  of  a  family  of  six  children  to  be  stricken  down  with 
tuberculosis,  having  all  taken  it  from  an  afflicted  mother. 
Never  move  into  a  strange  house  without  thoroughly  fumi- 
gating the  premises. 

If  you  have  consumption,  do  not  give  it  to  others  by  your 
careless  spitting.  Carry  around  a  destructible  pasteboard 
box  into  which  you  can  spit,  and  afterwards  burn  it.  In 
the  cities  we  have  lung  blocks  and  lung  sections  where  we 
expect  a  large  number  of  deaths  from  tuberculosis. 

Those  afflicted  with  tuberculosis  should  early  seek  the 
advice  of  a  competent  physician  —  should  prepare  to  go  at 
once  to  a  tuberculosis  tent-colony,  or  otherwise  live  out  of 
doors.  It  matters  not  what  climate  you  live  in,  provided  you 
live  out  of  doors  and  get  fresh  air  and  sunshine.  Cold  air 
is  just  as  good  as  warm  air.  Tuberculosis  patients  do  well 
in  the  northern  latitudes  even  during  winter.  They  do  just 
as  well,  under  proper  medical  care,  at  home  as  in  the  sani- 
tarium. 

Tuberculosis  is  primarily  due  to  lowered  vitality  and  the 
indoor  life,  but  indirectly  it  is  a  disease  resulting  largely 
from  careless  spitting.  Let  us  have  more  and  more  stringent 
laws  against  promiscuous  and  careless  spitting,  and  let  us 
have  them  impartially  enforced.  Attention  has  recently  been 
called  to  the  fact  that  the  public  telephone  may  sometimes 
serve  to  spread  tuberculosis  germs. 

The  following  instructions  have  been  prepared  to  state 
concisely  how  to  prevent  and  cure  consumption,  and  are  well 
worth  study.  Great  good  is  accomplished  by  boards  of 
health  in  circulating  these  instructions: 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  339 

HOW   TO   PREVENT    CONSUMPTION 

The  spit  and  the  small  particles  coughed  up  and  sneezed 
out  by  consumptives,  and  by  many  who  do  not  know  that 
they  have  consumption,  are  full  of  living  germs  too  small  to 
be  seen.  These  germs  are  the  cause  of  consumption. 

DON'T  SPIT  on  sidewalks  —  it  spreads  disease,  and  it  is  against 
the  law. 

DON'T  SPIT  on  the  floors  of  your  rooms  or  hallways. 

DON'T  SPIT  on  the  floor  of  your  shop. 

WHEN  YOU  SPIT,  spit  in  the  gutters  or  into  a  spittoon.  Have 
your  own  spittoons  half  full  of  water,  and  clean  them  out 
at  least  once  a  day  with  hot  water. 

DON'T  cough  without  holding  a  handkerchief  or  your  hand 
over  your  mouth. 

DON'T  live  in  rooms  where  there  is  no  fresh  air. 

DON'T  work  in  rooms  where  there  is  no  fresh  air. 

DON'T  sleep  in  rooms  where  there  is  no  fresh  air. 

Keep  at  least  one  window  open  in  your  bedroom  day  and  night. 

Fresh  air  helps  to  kill  the  consumption  germ. 

Fresh  air  helps  to  keep  you  strong  and  healthy. 

DON'T  eat  with  soiled  hands  —  wash  them  first. 

DON'T  NEGLECT  A  COLD  or  a  cough. 

HOW   TO   CURE    CONSUMPTION 

DON'T  WASTE  YOUR  MONEY  on  patent  medicines  or  advertised 
cures  for  consumption,  but  go  to  a  doctor  or  a  dispensary. 
If  you  go  in  time  YOU  CAN  BE  CURED;  if  you  wait  until  you 
are  so  sick  that  you  cannot  work  any  longer,  or  until  you 
are  very  weak,  it  may  be  too  late;  at  any  rate  it  will  in  the 
end  mean  more  time  out  of  work  and  more  wages  lost  than 
if  you  had  taken  care  of  yourself  at  the  start. 

DON'T  DRINK  WHISKEY,  beer,  or  other  intoxicating  drinks ;  they 
will  do  you  no  good,  but  will  make  it  harder  for  you  to  get 
well. 

DON'T  SLEEP  IN  THE  SAME  BED  with  any  one  else,  and  if  possi- 
ble, not  in  the  same  room. 

GOOD  FOOD,  FRESH  AIR,  AND  REST  are  the  best  cures.  Keep  in 
the  sunshine  as  much  as  possible,  and  KEEP  YOUR  WINDOWS 
bPEN,  winter  and  summer,  night  and  day  —  fresh  air,  night 
and  day,  is  good  for  you. 


340  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

Go  TO  A   HOSPITAL  WHILE   YOU   CAN    AND  BEFORE  IT   IS   TOO   LATE. 

There  you  can  get  the  best  treatment,  all  the  rest,  all  the 
fresh  air,  and  all  the  food  which  you  need. 

THE    CAREFUL    AND   CLEAN    CONSUMPTIVE    IS    NOT    DANGEROUS    TO 
THOSE   WITH    WHOM    HE  LIVES   AND   WORKS. 

It  is  possible  to  sleep  out  of  doors,  if  you  cannot  work 
out  of  doors.  The  head  of  the  single  bed  can  be  put  out 
of  the  window,  or  some  form  of  window  tent  can  be  used. 
Hammocks  can  be  strung  on  the  roof  of  the  city  tenement 
in  summer.  Beds  can  be  placed  on  the  porches.  There  is 
no  excuse  for  not  sleeping  out  of  doors.  (Fig.  42.) 

DISINFECTANTS   AND   DEODORANTS, 

Deodorants  are  substances  which  destroy  odor  and  cause 
the  premises  to  smell  sweet,  but  they  are  not  necessarily 
disinfectants;  that  is,  they  may  not  kill  germs.  Disinfect- 
ants proper  are  substances  which  have  power  to  kill  germs. 
Heat,  fire,  and  sunlight  are  Nature's  disinfectants.  Chloride 
of  lime  and  copper  sulphate  are  good  disinfectants  to  sprinkle 
about  cellars,  closets,  and  other  places  where  it  is  desired 
both  to  disinfect  and  deodorize.  Formaldehyde  gas  produced 
by  special  generators,  or  by  the  burning  of  formaldehyde 
candles,  is  used  as  a  disinfectant  after  contagious  diseases, 
or  formaldehyde  sheets  may  be  hung  about  the  rooms.  The 
burning  of  sulphur,  after'  effectively  stopping  up  all  means 
of  air  escaping  from  the  room,  is  also  an  efficient  means  of 
disinfecting.  For  disinfecting  sheets  and  other  linen  in  in- 
fectious diseases,  it  is  well  to  put  them  in  a  weak  solution 
of  carbolic  acid  before  sending  them  to  the  laundry.  Bi- 
chloride of  mercury  (corrosive  sublimate)  is  used  as  a  gen- 
eral disinfectant  in  strength  of  from  I  to  1,000  down  to  i 
to  5,000. 

Disinfection  of  excreta.  Corrosive  sublimate  is  not  a 
good  disinfectant  for  bowel  discharges.  These  are  best  dis- 
infected by  solutions  of  carbolic  acid  and  chloride  of  lime. 
The  excreta  should  be  mixed  with  equal  quantities  of  this 
disinfectant  solution  and  allowed  to  stand  several  hours 
before  it  is  disposed  of.  Nurses  and  others  engaged  in  the 


TflB 

Window  Tenf 


Cross 
of  Window  Tenf. 


Fl  G.  4Z.~    Haw  fa  5/eep  out  of  doors. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  34! 

care  of  typhoid  and  other  contagious  diseases,  should  fre- 
quently disinfect  their  hands. 

QUARANTINE   AND   ISOLATION 

It  is  amazing  how  intelligent  people  will  disregard  and 
evade  the  quarantine  regulations  of  the  health  officers. 
The  time  has  certainly  arrived  when  civilized  nations  should 
take  contagious  diseases  seriously.  The  Board  of  Health 
regulations  are  for  the  good  of  both  the  individual  and  the 
community.  In  all  these  matters  the  layman  should  give 
earnest  and  conscientious  heed  to  the  instructions  of  the 
attending  physician  and  the  health  officer,  and  in  this  way 
lessen  the  spread  of  disease  and  lower  the  death  rate  of  the 
community.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  ourselves  and  our 
neighbors,  to  lessen  in  every  way  possible  the  occurrence  of 
disease,  whether  it  be  the  contagious  diseases,  the  rickets 
of  the  child  due  to  improper  feeding,  the  scurvy  of  the 
sailor  deprived  of  fresh  food,  or  the  consumption  that  re- 
sults from  bad  air,  dust,  and  careless  spitting. 

THE   DELUSION    OF   DRUGS. 

Alcohol  and  many  other  drugs,  instead  of  being  a  pre- 
ventive or  a  cure  of  disease,  are  in  themselves  a  direct  cause 
of  disease.  The  majority  of  these  drugs  expend  the  vital 
energy,  but  in  no  way  contribute  to  the  production  of  vital 
strength,  and  this  is  the  great  difference  between  drugs  and 
foods. 

Alcohol  and  drugs  give  rise  to  sensations  which  are  not 
real.  Their  strength  is  deceptive.  They  make  one  feel 
stronger  when  one  is  weaker;  they  cause  one  to  feel  warmer 
when  one  is  cooler.  They  aggravate  the  vast  majority  of 
diseases  for  which  they  are  taken  as  a  cure.  It  is  one  of  the 
laws  of  living  things  that  the  excretions  of  any  living 
organism  are  more  or  less  poisonous  to  all  creatures  higher 
than  itself  in  the  scale  of  life.  This  is  true  of  alcohol.  It 
is  an  excretion  of  little  vegetable  organisms  —  the  common 
yeast  plant,  and  it  proves  to  be  poisonous  to  everything  above 
it  in  the  scale  of  life,  and  that  embraces  the  entire  animal 


342  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

creation.  One  part  of  alcohol  in  1,000  parts  of  water,  will 
even  kill  a  plant  if  watered  with  it,  while  ten  parts  of  alcohol 
in  1,000  parts  of  water  will  kill  a  fish. 

We  have  spoken  elsewhere  of  alcohol  as  a  food,  but  here 
briefly  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  quantity  of  flour 
that  will  rest  on  the  point  of  a  knife,  contains  as  much 
nourishment  as  ten  quarts  of  beer.  It  is  true  that  some 
alcohol  may  be  burned  in  the  body,  as  may  ether  and 
chloroform,  and  many  other  poisons,  but  it  is  not  assimilated 
by  the  body.  It  is  in  no  way  treated  as  a  real  food ;  on  the 
other  hand,  it  produces  degeneration  of  practically  all  the 
body  tissues.  It  has  the  effect  of  hardening  the  brain  and 
arteries  and  lessening  the  thinking  power  —  in  fact,  two 
ounces  of  whiskey  necessitates  that  a  man  should  take  twice 
his  ordinary  time  to  think  or  to  execute  a  muscular  movement. 

Alcohol  congests  the  stomach,  leading  to  ulcer  and  de- 
struction of  living  tissues.  It  causes  the  little  nerve  proc- 
esses in  the  brain  cells  to  retract,  and  this  lessens  the  mental 
processes,  although  it  is  true  that  during  the  early  stage  of 
alcoholic  intoxication,  mental  processes  seem  to  be  increased 
and  there  is  a  great  and  steady  flow  of  language.  This  is 
only  the  first  effect  of  this  narcotic  drug;  later  effects  are 
more  depressing.  When  long  used,  it  leads  even  to  insanity. 
Alcohol  is  now  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  predisposing 
causes  of  consumption.  Its  use  shortens  life.  One-half  of 
all  the  idiots  in  the  asylums  in  this  country  are  found  to 
come  from  drunken  parents.  Fifty  per  cent  of  criminals 
and  eighty  per  cent  of  prostitutes  likewise  have  alcoholic 
parentage.  Physicians  are  coming  to  use  less  and  less  al- 
cohol in  the  practice  of  medicine.  In  many  diseases  such 
as  typhoid  fever  and  pneumonia,  where  alcohol  was  com- 
monly used  in  past  years,  it  has  now  almost  passed  out  of 
existence  as  a  remedy. 

Alcohol,  therefore,  can  claim  no  real  place  as  a  food  upon 
our  tables,  and  is  not  entitled  to  the  dignity  of  being  called 
a  beverage.  It  should  be  regarded  as  a  poisonous  drug,  its 
sale  permitted  only  upon  prescription,  and  its  use  limited  to 
medical  practice. 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  343 

The   influence  of  alcohol   upon  the  individual  and  upon 
society  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

1.  Those   who   buy   alcohol   spend   their  money   for   that 
which  is  not  food,  but  they  do  not  get  a  harmless  substance 
—  they  get  an  active  poison. 

2.  Leading    scientific    authorities    unite    in    pronouncing 
alcohol  a  narcotic  poison  and  not  a  food. 

3.  Alcohol  is  a  deceiver.     It  is  a  nerve-fooler.     It  makes 
a  man  feel  warm  when  he  is  cold.     It  makes  him  feel  strong 
when  he  is  weak.     It  makes  him  feel  rich  when  he  is  poor. 
It  makes  him  feel  happy  when  he  may  have  every  cause  for 
the  most  heartfelt  grief  and  sadness. 

4.  It  is  a  reason-robber.     Its  devotees  lose  their  discretion 
and  judgment. 

5.  It  is  a  money-destroyer.     Its  use  lies  at  the  bottom  of 
many  a  financial  wreck. 

6.  It  is  a  home-breaker.     Alcohol  is  probably  responsible 
for  more  blasted  homes  than  any  other  single  agency. 

7.  It  is  a  mind-destroyer.     It  occupies  a  prominent  place 
among  the   first   causes   of   insanity,   in   the   statistics   fur- 
nished by  our  asylums. 

8.  It  is  a  conscience-destroyer.     Those  who  long  continue 
its  use  in  large  quantities  find  their  consciences  benumbed. 
Their  higher  sensibilities  and  spiritual  perceptions  are  de- 
stroyed. 

9.  It  is  a  poverty-producer.     Drink  is  not  only  the   re- 
sult of  poverty,  but  the  use  of  alcohol  tends  forever  to  im- 
poverish. 

10.  It   is   a   crime-generator.     Much    crime   is   committed 
that  the  criminal  may  obtain  alcohol,  or  else  he  is  led  by 
his  criminal  impulses  while  under  its  influence. 

11.  It  is  the  handmaiden  of  vice.     The  vicious  elements 
and  immoral  practices  of  our  great  cities  are   inseparably 
linked  with  the  liquor  traffic  and  the  use  of  alcohol. 

12.  The  good  feeling  it  gives  you  to-day  is  upon  the  price 
of  placing  a  mortgage  upon  your  after-health  and  strength. 

Tobacco  is  another  of  the  narcotic  drugs,  and  its  use  leads 
directly  to  disease.     Its  sale  should  be  regulated  by  law,  and 


344  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

under  no  circumstances  should  minors  be  allowed  to  use  it. 
It  should  be  treated  as  a  drug,  the  same  as  morphine  and 
cocaine.  To  say  the  least,  vigorous  anti-cigarette  laws 
should  be  passed  by  each  State  preventing  the  sale  of  this 
poisonous  drug  to  youth  of  tender  age. 

Tea  and  coffee  are  other  narcotic  drugs  containing  from 
3  per  cent  to  6  per  cent  of  a  poisonous  principle.  About 
a  billion  pounds  a  year  of  these  substances  are  used,  con- 
taining 15,000  tons  of  poisons.  A  40  to  6o-grain  dose  of 
these  narcotics  might  even  prove  fatal  to  many  individuals. 
Each  year  the  American  people  consume  8  billion  to  10 
billion  doses  of  caffeine  and  theine,  or  almost  enough  to 
cripple  or  kill  the  whole  world,  if  given  at  a  single  dose. 

The  effect  of  the  continuous  use  of  these  drugs  is  shown 
on  the  complexion  and  also  manifests  itself  as  headache, 
nervousness,  sleeplessness,  and  the  development  of  that 
peculiar  experience  which  accompanies  all  drugs,  but  does 
not  attach  itself  to  the  use  of  foods;  that  is,  that  the  in- 
dividual using  them  gets  to  the  place  where  he  "  just  can't 
do  without  it."  Experiments  have  been  made  where  it  is 
shown  that  as  small  a  dose  as  three  grains  of  caffeine  greatly 
impairs  the  digestion. 

PATENT    MEDICINES 

In  the  battle  for  the  prevention  of  disease,  an  unceasing 
war  must  be  waged  upon  patent  nostrums.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances, allow  yourself  to  take  a  medicine  of  whose  com- 
position you  know  nothing.  Don't  take  drugs  unless 
they  are  prescribed  by  a  competent  physician.  Reputable 
men  of  science  do  not  tolerate  secret  formulas  or  medicines 
of  unknown  composition.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
nostrums  of  the  almanac  or  the  advertised  remedies  of  news- 
papers and  magazines.  When  in  need  of  medical  attention, 
employ  a  physician  and  not  a  druggist  to  prescribe  for  you. 

The  battle  against  disease  must  be  won  by  conscientious 
attention  to  the  laws  of  hygiene,  faithful  obedience  to  the 
rules  of  life,  careful  avoidance  of  all  the  known  causes  of 
disease,  and  promptly  seeking  the  advice  of  your  physician  at 


HYGIENE  AND  SANITATION  345 

all  times  when  the  body  fails  to  perform  its  normal  functions, 
or  you  are  apparently  threatened  with  affliction. 

THE   CITY   SLUMS, 

Much  as  we  dislike  to  call  attention  to  the  conditions  of 
vice  and  immorality  existing  in  the  slums  of  our  great  cities, 
nevertheless,  we  would  not  feel  clear  in  closing  this  chapter 
on  the  Transmission  of  Disease  without  calling  attention  to 
the  sweat-shops  and  hovels  of  our  large  cities  as  dissem- 
inators of  disease.  Many  of  these  places  are  unspeakably 
filthy  —  consumptive  operators  expectorating  on  the  floor  — 
the  same  floor  on  which  clothing  and  half-finished  garments 
will  subsequently  be  piled.  The  arrangements  of  many  of 
these  shops,  especially  the  home  sweat-shops,  are  utterly  un- 
sanitary, and  whatever  the  diseased  conditions  under  which 
the  clothing  is  finished,  it  is  certain,  never  having  been 
fumigated  or  disinfected,  that  the  subsequent  buyers  are  ex- 
posed to  these  influences.  And  who  knows  how  many 
mysterious  cases  of  fatal  disease  among  the  children  — 
diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  or  what  not,  might  have  been 
directly  traced  back  to  the  sweat-shop  and  shown  to  have 
been  secured  from  infected  clothing  made  or  worked  upon 
in  these  miserable  hovels  and  subsequently  sold  in  the 
fashionable  marts  of  our  great  cities. 

Another  matter  connected  with  the  slums,  which  is  little 
mentioned  by  either  physicians  or  educators  at  present,  but 
upon  which  we  can  no  longer  keep  silent,  is  the  spread  of 
social  disease  —  what  we  have  already  alluded  to  as  the 
"  Great  Black  Plague " ;  for  these  diseases  of  immorality 
annually  claim  a  death  toll  as  great  or  greater  than  that  of 
tuberculosis,  the  Great  White  Plague.  Medical  authorities 
estimate  that  from  3,000,000  to  5,000,000  people  are  suffering 
from  these  diseases,  in  one  form  or  another  in  the  United 
States,  as  the  result  of  their  infection  in  the  hovels  of  vice 
harbored  in  the  city  slums. 

One  of  these  diseases  of  sin  spreads  itself  by  50,000  new 
infections  each  year  in  New  York  City  alone,  while  80  per 
cent  of  all  male  adults  in  the  United  States  have  been  at 


346  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

some  time  infected  with  disease  as  the  result  of  the  mainte- 
nance of  these  horrible  plague  spots  in  the  centres  of  our 
civilization.  A  physician  and  surgeon  is  compelled  to 
recognize  the  terrible  consequences  of  sin  as  they  are  spread 
broadcast  through  these  agencies  of  the  city  slums.  Medical 
authorities  have  estimated  that  from  50  to  65  per  cent  of 
major  surgical  operations  upon  women  are  necessitated, 
directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  widespread  infection  of  in- 
nocent persons  by  means  of  these  unspeakable  diseases  of 
the  vice  of  the  slums. 

In  some  European  cities  the  slums  have  literally  placed 
their  brand  upon  from  one-half  to  one-seventh  of  the  entire 
population;  while  New  York  City  is  estimated  at  the  pres- 
ent time  to  have  one-fifteenth  of  its  population  scarred 
by  these  loathsome  maladies.  Last,  but  not  least,  intelligent 
people  —  thinking  men  and  women  —  must  face  the  fact  that 
of  the  800,000  boys  who  reach  maturity  each  year  in  the 
United  States,  fully  500,000  —  a  half-million  —  as  a  result 
of  inadequate  education  and  preventive  training,  are  led  to 
plunge  themselves  into  this  moral  sewer  of  the  city's  slums, 
and  of  this  500,000  —  the  flower  of  our  flock  —  about  400,- 
ooo  annually  contract  one  of  these  terrible  diseases  of  social 
sin,  which  are  perpetuated  and  transmitted  largely  through 
the  agency  of  the  vice  and  sin  of  the  slum. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HEALTH  HINTS 

THE  NATURAL  LIFE  IN  A  NUT-SHELL. 
A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  LAWS  OF  HEALTH. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. —  SUNLIGHT. —  FRESH  AIR. —  DEEP  BREATH- 
ING.—  MUSCULAR  EXERCISE. —  SENSIBLE  CLOTHING. —  THE  ART  OF 
EATING. —  PURE  WATER  DRINKING. —  REGULAR  BATHING. —  HlGH- 
PRESSURE  LIVING. —  MENTAL  REST  AND  RECREATION. —  THE  PRE- 
VENTION OF  DISEASE. 

I.       GENERAL    PRINCIPLES 

1.  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap," 
is  just  as  true  of  the  body  as  it  is  of  the  soul. 

2.  Science  is  rapidly  achieving  the  conquest  of  all  "germ 
diseases,"  while  the  "  habit  diseases,"  due  to  personal  prac- 
tices and  habits,  are  alarmingly  on  the  increase. 

3.  Nature  alone  can  cure  disease.     Doctors  cannot  heal. 
They  can  only  direct  the  sufferer  back  to  the  pathways  of 
health.     Nature  alone  can  create,  and  healing  is  re-creation. 

4.  Sensations  of  fatigue  and  pain  are  friendly  voices  of 
warning.     They    are    the    body's    conscience.     We    should 
heed  their  messages  and  not  silence  their  prayer  by  stimu- 
lants, narcotics,  and  pain  killers. 

5.  We  enjoy  health  when  the  body  works  under  natural 
and  normal  conditions.     The  same  laws  of  life  produce  dis- 
ease  when   the   body   is   compelled    to   do    its   work   under 
unnatural  and  abnormal  conditions. 

6.  It  should  be   remembered  that  the  human  body  is  a 
great    commonwealth.    These    tiny    little    creatures    called 
cells,    numbering   more    than    twenty-six    trillions,    are    de- 
pendent upon  man's  common  sense  and  judgment  for  their 
life  and  health. 

347 


348  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

7.  Unperverted    instincts    and    natural    appetites    would 
prove  to  be  safe  and  unerring  guides  in  choosing  the  way 
of  life,  but  the  civilized  man,  through  physical  disobedience 
and  artificial  living,  has  grossly  perverted  his  natural  in- 
stincts —  largely  lost  his  "  horse-sense." 

8.  Some  persons  have  inherited  such  vast  riches  of  phys- 
ical wealth  that  they  are  able  to  live  a  long  time  as  hygienic 
spendthrifts  with  but  little  personal  suffering.     The  result 
of  their  careless  living  usually  appears  in  the  lives  of  their 
sickly  offspring.     "  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and 
the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge." 

II.  SUNLIGHT 

1.  Sunshine  is  essential  to  animal  life  and  growth. 

2.  The  daily  sun  bath,  properly  taken,  would  restore  many 
semi-invalids  back  to  health. 

3.  Sunshine  is  the  best  known  disinfectant.     It  should  be 
freely  admitted  to  every  human  dwelling  place. 

4.  Human    dwellings    should    be    full    of   windows.    The 
house  should  be  daily  flushed  with  light  and  sterilized  with 
sunshine. 

5.  It  is  a  crime   against  the   rising  generation  to   have 
the  nursery  located  anywhere  except  on  the  sunny  side  of 
the  house. 

6.  The  direct  rays  of  sunlight  are  almost  instantaneously 
fatal  to  tuberculosis  germs  and  the  vast  majority  of  other 
disease  microbes. 

7.  The  vital  resistance  of  the  human  body  is  greatly  in- 
fluenced by  the  number  of  hours  one  spends  each  day  in  the 
sunshine  of  the  open  air. 

8.  Sunshine  is  the  fountain  of  all  earthly  energy  and  the 
direct  source  of  plant   growth.     Plants  can  only   build  up 
food  substances  under  the  influence  of  light. 

III.  FRESH    AIR 

i.  Man  is  an  outdoor  animal.     He  was  made  to  live  in  a 
garden,  not  a  house. 


HEALTH  HINTS  349 

2.  Remember   that  each   person   requires   one   cubic   foot 
of  fresh  air  every  second. 

3.  Remember  that  sleeping  outdoors  is  a  preventive,  as  well 
as  a  cure,  for  tuberculosis. 

4.  Foul   air   is  the   curse   of  our  modern   manufacturing 
establishments  and  work  shops. 

5.  Agitate  against  the  atrocious  ventilation  of  churches, 
audience  rooms,  and  other  public  buildings. 

6.  If  you  work   indoors,   remember   that  you   can't   ven- 
tilate your  lungs  unless  you  ventilate  the  house. 

7.  Don't  allow  the  temperature  of  living  rooms,  during 
the  winter  season,  to  go  above  sixty-eight  degrees  F. 

8.  See  that  school  children  have  fresh  air  and  sunshine. 
Much  of  the  stunting  effects  of  the  city  schools  is  due  to 
poor  ventilation. 

9.  The  vital  resistance  of  an  individual,  a  family,  or  a 
race  of  people,  is  in  exact  inverse  ratio  to  the  number  of 
years  they  have  been  away  from  the  soil. 

10.  If  your  home  has  no  system  of  ventilation,  open  wide 
the  windows  and  doors  several  times  a  day  and  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  a  thorough-going  air  flushing. 

11.  Oxygen  is  the  vital  fire  of  life.     Our  food,  however 
well  digested  and  assimilated,  is  just  as  useless  to  the  body 
without  oxygen,  as  coal  is  to  the  furnace  without  air. 

12.  Consumption     (tuberculosis),    pneumonia,    bronchitis, 
pleurisy  and  catarrh  are  house  diseases.    Neither  man  nor 
any  other  animal  contracts  these  diseases  when  living  alto- 
gether out-of-doors. 

13.  Bedroom    climate    is    responsible    for   many    common 
maladies.     If  you  cannot  work  outdoors,  sleep  outdoors, — 
or  as  near  to  it  as  possible.     Boost  the  fashion  of  outdoor 
bedrooms  and  sleeping  porches. 

IV.      DEEP   BREATHING 

1.  Deep    breathing    promotes    brain    circulation    and    in- 
creases mental  activity. 

2.  Deep  breathing  aids  digestion,  prevents  dyspepsia,  and 
favors  healthy  liver  action. 


350  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

3.  Natural   breathing,  like  that  of  the   infant,   results   in 
expansion  of  both  the  chest  and  the  abdomen. 

4.  Oxygen   is   nature's   tonic.     Outdoor   breathing   is    the 
best  possible  tonic  prescription  for  indoor  invalids. 

5.  A  flat  chest  indicates  weak  lungs,  decreased  physical 
efficiency,  and,  not  infrequently,  curvature  of  the  spine. 

6.  Deep  breathing  empties  the  portal  vessels  of  the  ab- 
domen, the  congestion  of  which  is  the  chief  cause  of  the 
"  blues." 

7.  It  is  written  that  the  breath  of  life  was  breathed  into 
man's  nostrils,  not  his  mouth.     Mouth  breathing  is  either 
a  cause  or  a  result  of  disease. 

8.  Despondent  people  are  always  shallow  breathers.     Bad 
breathing    and    worry    go    together.     Getting    rid    of    one 
usually  helps  in  overcoming  the  other. 

9.  Shallow    breathing   beclouds    the    mind    by    causing   a 
retention  of  blood  poisons,  thereby  placing  heavy  and  un- 
necessary burdens  upon  the  moral  nature. 

10.  Oxygen  is  so  indispensable  to  life,  that  while  we  can 
live  by  eating  only  two  or  three  times  a  day,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  take  "  air  lunches  "  twenty  times  a  minute. 

11.  The   lungs  are  nature's  blood-purifiers.     In  the  place 
of  taking  patent  medicines,  eat  good  food,  drink  pure  water, 
ventilate  the  house,  go  outdoors,  and  breathe  deeply. 

12.  Remember  that  it  is  just  as  important  to  have  fresh 
air  at  night  and  proper  ventilation  in  the  winter,  as  at  other 
times.     Night  air  is  just  as  pure  or  a  little  more  so,  than 
day  air. 

13.  Every  cell  of  the  body  must  breathe  for  itself.     But 
these   countless    millions   of   little   creatures    are    suffocated 
if  the  living  and  working  rooms  are  not  fully  and  properly 
ventilated. 

14.  Superficial  breathing  decreases  the  elimination  of  the 
poisonous  gases  of  the  blood,  thereby  slowly,  but  none  the 
less  surely,  exposing  every  cell  of  the  body  to  poisonous 
influences. 

15.  Natural   breathing   is   both   a   preventive   and    a   cure 
for  many  forms  of  constipation,  as  the  diaphragm  exerts 


HEALTH  HINTS  351 

a  downward  pressure  on  the  stomach  and  bowels  of  about 
two  hundred  pounds. 

1 6.  The   blood   is   purified   and   its    circulation   quietened 
by  deep  breathing.     The  blood  is  the  vital  stream  that  turns 
the  wheels  of  life,  and  should  contain  more,  by  weight,  of 
oxygen  than  it  does  of  digested  food. 

17.  Use     the     diaphragm     in     breathing.     Don't     breathe 
merely  with  the  top  of  the  chest  like  a  woman  wearing  a 
tight  corset.     Let  the  diaphragm  move  up  and  down  so  as 
to  thoroughly  ventilate  the  bottom  of  the  lungs. 

18.  The  value  of  the  outdoor  life   is  entirely  dependent 
upon  the  intake  of  oxygen.     It  does  no  more  good  to  go 
outdoors  without  deep  breathing,  than  it  would  when  hun- 
gry to  go  to  the  dining  table  and  refuse  to  eat. 

V.      MUSCULAR   EXERCISE 

1.  Body  work  is  indispensable  to  'first-class  brain  work. 

2.  Muscular    exercise    promotes    complete    and    regular 
movements  of  the  bowels. 

3.  A  daily  sweat  is  good  for  your  health  and  religion,  as 
well  as  your  daily  prayer. 

4.  Exercise  is  better  for  the  health  if  it  is  regular,  use- 
ful, pleasant,  and  agreeable. 

5.  Systematic  physical  exercise  is  absolutely  essential  to 
good  circulation  and  sound  digestion. 

6.  Man   is   a  working  machine.    The   study   of   anatomy 
suggests  that  he  was  never  made  to  sit  down. 

7.  Indian    clubs,    Delsarte,    etc.,    are    good    exercises    for 
young  girls,  semi-invalids,  and  for  the  cultivation  of  grace. 

8.  Exercise  should  be  systematic  and  symmetric ;  not  ex- 
cessive, but  moderate.     Do  not  begin  what  you  cannot  keep 
up. 

9.  The  proper  resting  position   for  man  is  the  -reclining 
posture.     Many  diseases  and  deformities  result  from  chair 
abuses. 

10.  You  owe  it  to  yourself  to  learn  how  to  stand,  sit,  and 
walk  properly,  and  also  how  to  climb  stairs  in  a  healthful 
manner. 


352  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

11.  Man  has  a  mental,  moral,  and  social  life  to  cultivate. 
He  should  not  spend  all  his  time  on  the  body — "  oiling  the 
machine." 

12.  Physical  exercise  destroys  body  poisons  and  thus  di- 
rectly   favors    mental    activity    and    indirectly    lessens    the 
moral  struggle. 

13.  Going  up  and  down  stairs  one  hundred  and  fifty  times 
a  day  is  equivalent  to  walking  six  miles,  and  is  good  exer- 
cise if  properly  performed. 

14.  Regular,  light,  and  useful  exercise  is  far  superior  to 
modern   athletics,   which   are   greatly   overdone   and   some- 
times highly  injurious. 

15.  The   ideal  exercise   is  walking  outdoors,   five   or   six 
miles  a  day,  the  arms  swinging  freely  while  every  muscle 
is  vigorously  energized. 

16.  Physical  exercise  is  a  sure  producer  of  deep  breath- 
ing.    (The  average  man  breathes  only  one-half  his  capac- 
ity, the  average  woman  but  one-fourth.) 

17.  In  exercising  for  health,  it  is  the  heavy  movements 
that   count.     Self-resistive   exercises   are   excellent,   as   you 
are  working  against  your  own  muscles  and  not  against  dead 
weight. 

VI.      SENSIBLE    CLOTHING 

1.  Hats  and  other  headdress  should  be  light  and  airy. 

2.  Thin-soled    shoes    are    dangerous    in    damp    and    cold 
weather. 

3.  Avoid  water-proof  clothing  and  water-proof  shoes  as 
far  as  •possible.    They  are  unhealthful. 

4.  For  outer  garments,  wool  is  the  best  for  winter,  while 
cotton  serves  best  in  the  summer. 

5.  The   bedclothing  should   be   as   light  as   possible,   con- 
sistent with  warmth  and  protection. 

6.  In   winter,   clothe   the   extremities   well.    This   applies 
with  special  force  to  young  girls  and  women. 

7.  The  primary   purposes   of  clothing  are   those   of  pro- 
tection and  modesty,  not  adornment  and  display. 


HEALTH  HINTS  353 

8.  Many  of  the  so-called   "  female   complaints "   are  due 
wholly  or  partially,  to  the  results  of  corset  wearing. 

9.  The  best  material  for  underclothing  is  linen  mesh  with 
cotton  next.    Wool  is  undesirable  for  underclothing. 

10.  The   most   comfortable   summer  clothes   are   those  of 
light  color  and  loose  weave,  with  a  very  thin  dark  lining. 

11.  During    the    winter,    look    out    for    overclothing    the 
body.    Use   furs  with   discretion.     Clothe   the  body   evenly 
and  symmetrically. 

12.  Heavy  skirts  and  other  garments  should  not  be  sus- 
pended  from   the   hips,   but   should   be   properly   supported 
from  the  shoulders. 

13.  Clothing  should  be   physiologic   and   anatomic, —  that 
is,  the  clothes  should  be  made  to  fit  the  body  and  not  the 
body  to  fit  the  clothes. 

14.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  young  girl  breathes 
in  a  natural,  normal  manner,  just  as  her  brother  does,  be- 
fore she  wears  corsets. 

15.  The  corsets  worn  by  women  and  the  tight  belts  by 
men,    interfere    with    natural    and    normal    breathing    and 
weaken  the  abdominal  muscles. 

1 6.  Constrictions  of  the  waist,  as  by  the  modern  corset, 
favor  liver  and  gall-stone  disorders,  together  with  stomach 
trouble,  constipation,  and  many  other  serious  diseases. 

VII.      THE   ART   OF   EATING 

1.  How  we  eat  is  equally  important  with  what  we  eat. 

2.  Avoid  extremes  of  temperature   in   eating  and  drink- 
ing. 

3.  Eat  some  fresh,  raw  food  daily,  such  as  fruits,  vege- 
tables, nuts,  or  dried  fruits. 

4.  Avoid    alcoholic    beverages.     Alcohol    accomplishes    no 
good  thing  for  the  healthy  body. 

5.  Thorough     mastication  —  all    things    being    equal  —  is 
the  great  secret  of  good  digestion. 

6.  The  best  of   foods   are  injurious   when  overeaten,   or 
when  wrongly  combined  with  other  foods. 

33 


354  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

7.  The  prompt  elimination  of  the  waste  products  of  the 
body  is  equally  important  with  good  digestion. 

8.  Look  out  for  soft,  fresh,  doughy  breads,  batter  cakes, 
and  half-cooked  pastries.    They  are  breeders  of  dyspepsia. 

9.  Exercise  every  precaution  to  get  pure,  wholesome,  un- 
adulterated  foods.    Tainted   foods   are   worse   than   tainted 
money. 

10.  The  more  simple  one's  diet,  the  less  the  craving  of  the 
nervous    system    for   unnatural    foods    and    harmful    stimu- 
lants. 

11.  Avoid  excess   of  both   sugar  and   salt.    In   moderate 
quantities  they  are  harmless,  but  when  overeaten  they  are 
injurious. 

12.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  have  peace  in  the  head  and 
war  in  the  stomach.     Coarse  eating  and  fine  thinking  are 
incompatible. 

13.  Cultivate  a  liking  for  hard   foods  which  have  to  be 
masticated.     Don't  undertake  to  live  upon  mushes,  soups,  and 
other  liquid  foods. 

14.  Remember    that   the    original   diet   of   primitive    man 
consisted   largely   of  those   things   which   grow   out  of   the 
earth  and  upon  trees. 

15.  Look  out   for  tea   and  coffee.    They  are   stimulants, 
they  are  not  foods.     Their  only  nourishing  property  is  the 
sugar  and  milk  added. 

1 6.  Remember   that   overeating   of   protein    produces    far 
more  serious  results  in  the  body  than  does  the  overeating 
of  other  food  elements. 

17.  Remember  that  food  is  useless  to  the  body  until  it  is 
digested  and  assimilated.     Good  digestion  is  just  as  essential 
to  health  as  good  food. 

18.  Remember  that  digestion  is  powerfully  influenced  by 
the  mental  state.     Keep  the  mind  cheerful  and  hopeful  dur- 
ing, and  just  after,  the  meal  hour. 

19.  The  cook  stove  is  of  great  value  in  cooking  cereals, 
but  it  is  overworked  and  much  abused.     Most  fruits,  vege- 
tables, and  nuts  are  better  eaten  raw. 

20.  Most    people    do    better    without    drinking    at    meals. 


HEALTH  HINTS  355 

Even  those  with  strong  stomachs  will  find  it  best  not  to  take 
over  one  glass  of  water  at  meal-time. 

21.  Engineers  know  how  to  feed  their  furnaces  better,  and 
farmers  know  how  to  feed  their1  cattle  better,  than  the  aver- 
age man  knows  how  to  feed  his  own  body. 

22.  Eat  natural   foods,   cultivate  your  taste,   and  the  ap- 
petite will  in  time  become  a  fairly  reliable  guide  as  to  when 
to  eat,  what  to  eat,  and  how  to  eat. 

23.  The  American  people  eat  too  much  meat.    That   is, 
they  take  too  much  protein.     Other  foods  containing  pro- 
tein are  cheese,  eggs,  beans,  and  most  nuts. 

24.  Remember  that  decayed  meats  are  much  more  dan- 
gerous   and    poisonous    than    decayed    vegetables.     Milk    is 
especially  subject  to  deterioration  and  contamination. 

25.  Apply  the  eight-hour  rule  to  the  stomach  and  it  will 
seldom  strike.     That  is,  allow  eight  hours  between  regular 
meals,  and  put  nothing  into  the  stomach  between  meals. 

26.  Study  foods  and  learn  how  properly  to  balance  your 
daily   ration.     The  average   man   requires  about  two   thou- 
sand calories  a  day.     Consult  the  food  tables  and  find  out 
how  much  you  are  eating. 

27.  A  good  appetite  ordinarily  equals  a  good  digestion. 
If  the  appetite  is  poor,  make  such  changes  in  your  habits 
as  will  enable  you  to  earn  a  good  one.    A  good  appetite 
equals  good  digestive  juices. 

28.  Remember  that  you  have  an  intellect.     Man  is  sup- 
posed to  be  an  intelligent  animal.     His  appetite,  therefore, 
should  at  all  times  be  under  the  watchcare  of  enlightened 
reason  and  scientific  judgment. 

29.  Multiplicity  of  dishes  and  bad  food  combinations  pro- 
duce dyspepsia.     Eat  but  two  or  three  articles  of  food  at  a 
single  meal.     Avoid   the  use  of  many  modern  concoctions 
and  desserts  served  under  fancy  names. 

30.  If  you  are  not  engaged  in  hard  physical  labor,  don't 
eat  much  when  you  are  not  hungry.     Wait  a  few  hours,  or 
until  the  next  day,  when  you  will  have  a  better  appetite. 
This  is  a  safe  rule  for  all  people  in  ordinary  health. 

31.  Remember  that   most   people   eat   too   much   and   eat 


356  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIYING 

too  often.  That  "all-gone  feeling"  in  the  region  of  the 
stomach  is  the  cry  of  nature  for  oxygen  or  water,  not  for 
food.  Two  meals  a  day  are  better  for  some  people  than 
three. 

32.  Avoid  highly  preserved  and  highly  seasoned  dishes, 
pickles,  cheese,  and  the  stronger  condiments  such  as  mus- 
tard, pepper,  and  vinegar  —  in  fact,  look  with  disfavor  upon 
anything  that  is  hot  when  it  is  cold.  Use  lemon- juice  in 
the  place  of  vinegar.  Whatever  braces  a  food  against  de- 
cay, also  braces  it  against  digestion. 

VIII.       PURE   WATER   DRINKING 

1.  Fresh  fruit  juices  and  lemonade  are  good  beverages, 
—  wholesome  and  healthful. 

2.  Don't  forget  to  give  to  ordinary  fever  patients  all  the 
cold  water  they  want  to  drink. 

3.  Remember  that  the  internal  bath  of  the  body  is  just 
as  necessary  and  essential  as  the  external  bath. 

4.  Most  filters  are  a  snare  and  a  delusion,  and  freezing 
water  does  not  necessarily  destroy  disease  germs. 

5.  Drink  at  any  time  except  just  before  meals  and  two 
hours  after  meals.     It  is  not  best  to  drink  during  meals. 

6.  Pure,  natural,  soft  water,  or  artificially  distilled  water, 
is  the  ideal  beverage.     Boil  all  suspected  drinking  water. 

7.  Cultivate   a   regular   water-drinking  habit.     Most   sed- 
entary people  drink  about  one-fourth  the  water  they  ought 
to. 

8.  Pure  water  is  the  best.    Mineral  water  is  a  delusion. 
If  you  are  going  to  take  medicated  water,  have  your  doctor 
prescribe  it. 

9.  Examine  the  source  of  your  drinking  water  as  care- 
fully as  you  do  the  source  of  your  food  supply.     Look  out 
for  contaminated  water. 

10.  Tea,    coffee,    soft   drinks,    etc.    (lemonade    excepted), 
are  only  adulterated  water.    They  do  not  take  the  place  of 
the  genuine  Adam's  ale. 

11.  All   the   activities   of  cell   life  are   carried  on   under 


HEALTH  HINTS  357 

water.    Water  is  indispensable  to  every  nutritional  change. 
Life  cannot  exist  without  water. 

12.  The  daily  intake  of  water  should  equal  the  daily  out- 
go. The  minimum  requirement  according  to  this  rule,  for 
sedentary  persons,  is  about  eight  glasses  a  day. 

IX.      REGULAR   BATHING 

1.  Cleanse  the  mouth  and1  teeth  on  arising  and  after  each 
meal. 

2.  Bathing  and  swimming  should  not  be  indulged  in  just 
before  or  after  eating. 

3.  The  neutral  bath    (ninety-seven  degrees)    is  excellent 
to  quiet  the  nerves  and  induce  sleep. 

4.  For  persons  who  are  fairly  strong,  the  cold  morning 
bath  is  an  excellent  preventive  of  colds. 

5.  The  neglect  of  regular  bathing  results   in   overwork- 
ing the  liver  and  kidneys,  and  debilitates  the  skin. 

6.  Hot  baths  are  weakening  and  debilitating  unless  they 
are  finished  off  with  short  applications  of  cold  water. 

7.  Regular  bathing  is  not  a  luxury,  it  is  a  necessity.    The 
skin  should  be  cleansed  by  a  warm  soap  bath  twice  a  week. 

8.  Most  people  will  get  better  results  from  cold  baths  if 
they  are  taken  in  a  warm  room  and  immediately  followed  by- 
physical  exercise. 

9.  Bathing  is  made  necessary  by  the  clothes  we  wear  and 
by  the  indoor  life.    If  the  skin  were  daily  exposed  to  sun- 
shine and  fresh  air,  it  would  seldom  be  necessary  to  bathe. 

10.  The   effects   of   short,   cold   baths   are   natural.    This 
same  kind  of  reaction  would  be  spontaneous  in  the  healthy 
skin  exposed  to  the  air.     Baths  are  simply  an  antidote  for 
the  wearing  of  clothes. 

X.       HIGH-PRESSURE   LIVING 

1.  Blood-making   foods   and   drinks    are   a   delusion.     All 
good  foods  when  well  digested  make  good  blood. 

2.  Modern    strenuous    living   of   the    civilized    nations    is 


358  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

greatly  raising  the  blood-pressure  and  thereby  predisposing 
to  disease. 

3.  Remember  that  while  alcohol,  morphine,  and  bromide 
compounds  temporarily  lower  the  blood-pressure,   they  are 
false  friends. 

4.  Remember    that    the    defences    of    the    body    against 
disease   are   greatly   increased   by   leading  the   natural   life, 

—  the  simple  life. 

5.  The  results  of  the  high-pressure  life  are  hardening  of 
the  arteries,   apoplexy,   Bright's  disease,  heart   failure,   and 
nervous  exhaustion. 

6.  High  blood-pressure  has  more  to  do  with  disease  and 
old  age  than  hard  arteries.     A  man  is  as  old  as  his  arteries 
are  hard  and  his  blood-pressure  is  permanently  raised. 

7.  Increasing   rise   in   blood-pressure   means    one   of   two 
things :  the  valves  of  the  heart  will  give  way  —  heart  failure 

—  or  a  blood-vessel  will  burst  —  apoplexy  and  paralysis. 

8.  The   germ-destroying  power  of  the   white   blood   cells 
is  greatly  increased  by  short,  cold  baths  and  by  alkalinizing 
the    blood-stream,    as    in    the    liberal    use    of    fresh    fruit 
juices. 

9.  The  body  possesses  inherent  and  automatic  powers  of 
resistance  against  disease.     It  is  our  duty  to  study  how  to 
cooperate  with  nature  in  this  struggle  for  the  maintenance 
of  health. 

10.  Remember  that  the  liver  is  the  filter  and  furnace  of 
the    body    for   detecting    and    destroying   poisons.     Do    not 
render    it    useless    by    overeating    and    intemperate    indul- 
gence. 

11.  Remember   that   the   blood-pressure   is    raised   by   co- 
caine, tobacco,  tea,  coffee,  strong  condiments,  flesh  foods,  as 
well  as  by  constipation,  worry,  anxiety,  and  other  morbid 
states  including  moral  condemnation. 

12.  Nearly  all  body  fluids  are  germicidal  in  their  action 
when  natural.     The  white  blood  cells  devour  disease  germs 
when   the   blood   is   alkaline.     When   the   blood  is   acid   or 
toxic  these  white  cells  may  devour  the  body  cells  instead. 


HEALTH  HINTS  359 

13.  The    following   habits   and   influences   tend   to    lower 
blood-pressure   or   prevent  its   rise:      Exercise,    short   cold 
baths,   tepid  baths,  rest,  sleep,  dietetic  simplicity,   self-con- 
trol, optimism,  a  happy  disposition,  faith,  and  a  clear  con- 
science. 

14.  The  white  blood  cells  constitute  the  body's  standing 
army  for  the  resistance  of  infectious  diseases.     Remember 
that  the  function  of  the  cells  is  perverted  and  destroyed  by 
alcohol,  morphine,  quinine,  and  many  other  drugs,  as  well 
as  by  the  poisons  of  dyspepsia,  and  constipation  absorbed 
from  the  bowel. 

XI.       MENTAL   REST    AND   RECREATION 

1.  Don't  take  drugs  for  worry  and  sleeplessness.     Take  a 
bath. 

2.  The    American    people    sleep    too    little    and    eat    too 
much. 

3.  Regular  rest  is   essential   to  the  health  of  mind   and 
body. 

4.  Make  your  weekly  Sabbath  just  as  complete  a  day  of 
rest  as  possible. 

5.  Don't    forget   the    Golden    Rule.    It    is    good    for    the 
health  of  the  whole  man. 

6.  Cultivate  the  art  of  living  with  yourself  as  you  are, 
and  with  the  world  as  it  is. 

7.  Remember   that   worry   about   business,    social    or   in- 
dustrial affairs  can  never  help.     It  may  make  matters  worse. 

8.  The  secret  of  deliverance  from  worrying  is  self-con- 
trol.     Minimize     your     difficulties.      Cultivate     faith     and 
trust. 

9.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  fight  sleeplessness  with  drugs. 
In   the   end   the  drugs   themselves   will    produce   more   in- 
somnia. 

10.  The  average  man  requires  eight  hours  of  sound  sleep 
every   night.     Some   appear   to  do   well   upon   a   little   less, 
while  others  require  a  trifle  more. 


360  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

11.  Remember   that   worry   will    not   disappear   of    itself. 
You  must  actively  combat  it.     Don't  make  the  mistake  of 
worrying  because  you  have  worried. 

12.  Shun  worry  and  all  its  mental  cousins  as  you  would 
flee  from  the  smallpox.    There  is  no  trouble,  however  se- 
rious, worrying  over  which  will  do  any  good. 

13.  Take  a  half  day  off  in  the  middle  of  the  week  if  you 
can  get  it.     Spend  it  in  wholesome  recreation,  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  health,  and  in  making  other  people  happier. 

14.  To  rob  oneself  of  sleep  is  simply  putting  a  mortgage 
on   future  health  and  happiness.     Nature   is   sure  to   fore- 
close  it   and  you   will   be   required   to   pay   compound   in- 
terest. 

15.  If  you  have  physical  causes  of  worry,  remove  them  by 
due  attention  to  the  bodily  state.     If  the  mind  is  worried, 
dispel  your  fears.     If  the  soul  is  harassed,  get  right  with 
your  Maker. 

16.  The   conditions  which   favor   sound   sleep   are :   quiet, 
mental  peace,  pure   blood,   good  digestion,   fresh   air, —  the 
colder  the  better, —  an  empty   stomach,   physical   weariness 
—  but  not  fatigue,  mental  weariness  —  but  not  worry. 

17.  Do  not  fail  to  have  periods  of  simple,  natural,  and 
wholesome   recreation.    We  do   not  refer  to  exciting,   un- 
natural  entertainment,   in   some   building  poorly  ventilated. 
We  refer  to  close  and  intimate  communion  with  nature. 

18.  The  physiologic  resting  posture  is  with  the  body  re- 
cumbent, resting  upon  either  side,  perhaps  slightly  inclined 
toward  the  abdomen.     The  emptying  of  the  stomach,  if  one 
has  eaten  at  a  late  hour,  and  the  action  of  the  heart,  are 
favored  by  sleeping  on  the  right  side.     There  are  numerous 
reasons  for  not  sleeping  on  the  back. 

19.  Waking  up  tired  in  the  morning  after  having  slept 
all    night   is   significant   and   means   one   or   more   of    four 
things : 

a.  Autointoxication, — that  is,  self-poisoning  from  the  ac- 
cumulation of  body  poisons  in  the  blood-stream. 

b.  Nervous    exhaustion, —  a    physical    condition    verging 


HEALTH  HINTS  361 

toward   the   borderland  of   brain    fag   or   nervous   prostra- 
tion. 

c.  Habitual  worry,  despondency  or  some  other  mental  at- 
titude of  fear  and  grief.     Remember,  sleep  is  an  antidote 
for  work,  but  not  for  worry. 

d.  Certain  other  nervous  diseases  which  need  not  be  here 
enumerated,  as  they  require  medical  attention. 

XII.      THE   PREVENTION   OF  DISEASE 

1.  Consumption    is    largely    spread    by    careless    spitting. 
Agitate  against  it. 

2.  Avoid  using  towels  and  other  toilet  articles  which  have 
been  used  by  others. 

3.  Remember  that  the  mosquito  is  the  means  of  spreading 
both  malaria  and  yellow  fever. 

4.  Next  to  germs  themselves,  the  great  cause  of  disease 
is  unsanitary  surroundings. 

5.  Disease  is  greatly  increased  by  the   use  of  nostrums 
containing  alcohol,  cocaine,  etc. 

6.  Look  out  for  dust.    House  dust  is  especially  danger- 
ous.   It  is  the  airship  of  the  microbe. 

7.  Remember  that  typhoid  fever,  summer  diarrhoea,  etc., 
come  largely  from  contaminated  water  and  milk. 

8.  After   every   case   of   suspicious    illness,    see   that   the 
furnishings  are  disinfected  and  the  premises  fumigated. 

9.  All   closets   not  having   sewer   connections    should   be 
carefully  screened  to  prevent  flies  gaining  access  thereto. 

10.  Children  may  contract  diphtheria,  scarlet   fever,  and 
other   diseases    from   sick   cats,   dogs,    and   other   domestic 
pets. 

11.  Avoid   the   public   drinking  cup.     It   is   a   carrier   of 
disease,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  promiscuous  kissing  should 
be  tabooed. 

12.  Fruits   and    vegetables,   when   eaten   raw,    should    be 
thoroughly  washed  to  remove  the  eggs  of  intestinal  worms 
and  parasites. 


362  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

13.  The  slums  of  the  great  city,  through  their  vice  and 
immorality,    are    spreading   broadcast   the   dreaded   diseases 
of  social  transgression. 

14.  Raw    pork    is    dangerous;    it    may    contain    trichinae. 
Rare  beef  may  give  you  tapeworm,  while  typhoid  fever  is 
gotten  from  raw  oysters. 

15.  The  vast  majority  of  diseases  are  wholly  preventable. 
It  lies  within  the  power  of  man  to  drive  every  germ  disease 
from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

1 6.  Rats,  fleas,  and  bedbugs,  together  with  other  animal 
parasites,   are   responsible   for   carrying  many   diseases,   in- 
cluding the  dreaded  bubonic  plague. 

17.  Remember  that  disease  never  comes  without  a  cause. 
Most  acute  diseases  are  caused  by  microbes,  and  the  major- 
ity  of   chronic   disorders   are   caused   by   wrong   habits   of 
living. 

18.  Always  give  hearty  cooperation  to  the  public  health 
officials   in   carrying   out   their   regulations   and   quarantine 
requirements.     They  are  working  for  your  good  as  well  as 
that  of  the  community. 

19.  Remember  that  germs  are  not  attracted  to  the  healthy 
man.     Health  is  more  contagious  than  disease.     Ordinarily, 
we  fall  victims  to  germs  only  after  our  vital  resistance  is 
lowered  by  physical  transgression. 

20.  The  common  household  fly  is  a  dangerous  disease  car- 
rier, engaged  in  spreading  typhoid  fever  and  half  a  score  of 
other  diseases.     Destroy  both  the   flies  and  their  breeding 
grounds.     Keep  them  out  of  the  house,  and  especially,  away 
from  the  food. 


AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED  IN  THE  PREPARATION 
OF  THIS  WORK 

In  the  preparation  of  the  several  lectures  which  preceded 
this  book,  the  author  freely  consulted  the  standard  medical 
text-books  and  works  on  hygiene  found  in  his  private  li- 
brary as  well  as  those  found  in  the  medical  libraries  of 
Chicago  and  Washington,  D.  C. 

In  rewriting  and  arranging  these  lectures  for  publication 
and  in  the  preparation  of  additional  matter,  the  following 
authors,  among  the  large  number  consulted,  deserve  special 
mention,  as  the  use  of  foot  notes  and  the  practice  of  in- 
cluding long  direct  quotations  was  thought  unadvisable  in  a 
work  of  this  character. 

Abrams The  Blues. 

Bartley Medical  Chemistry. 

Baruch Hydrotherapy. 

Bergey Principles  of  Hygiene. 

Bolduan Food   Poisoning. 

Chittenden The  Nutrition  of  Man. 

Cohen System  of  Physiologic  Therapeutics. 

Fletcher A.  B.  Z.  of  our  own  Nutrition. 

Gautier Diet  and  Dietetics. 

Gray Human  Anatomy. 

Huber Text  Book  of  Histology. 

Hutchinson Food  and  Dietetics. 

Kellogg The  Miracle  of  Life. 

McGlannan Physics  and  Chemistry. 

Metchnikoff Prolongation  of  Life. 

Osier Practice  of  Medicine. 

Parker Biology. 

Pawlow Work  of  the  Digestive  Glands. 

Robinson The  Abdominal  Brain. 

Roger Infectious  Diseases. 

363 


364  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED 

Saleeby Worry  —  the  Disease  of  the  Age. 

Starling Physiology  of  Digestion. 

Stewart Manual  of  Physiology. 

Walton Why  Worry? 

Wiley Food  Adulteration. 

Willoughby Hygiene  for  Students. 

Also  a  large  number  of  monographs,  medical  papers,  re- 
prints, and  articles  accumulated  from  periodical  literature, 
including  the  Food  Bulletins  and  Experiments  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  of  the  U.  S.  Government. 


APPENDIX 


365 


APPENDIX 


IN  Chapter  IX,  devoted  to  foods,  frequent  reference  was  made 
to  "  Food  Tables."  These  tables,  here  given,  will  be  easily  un- 
derstood and  fully  comprehended  by  a  study  of  this  explana- 
tion. 

For  example,  take  the  second  food  —  barley.  In  one  hundred 
parts  of  barley  there  is  found  to  be  10.5  per  cent  of  protein. 
The  next  column  is  headed  "  Calories  in  one  ounce,  12.1."  In 
other  words,  the  protein  (10.5  per  cent)  in  one  ounce  of  barley, 
contains  just  12.1  calories.  In  the  next  column,  barley  is  found 
to  contain  2.4  per  cent  of  fat,  while  the  food  calories  in  the 
fat  contained  in  one  ounce  are  6.3.  That  is,  the  fat  in  each 
ounce  of  barley  contains  just  6.3  calories.  And  so  with  starches. 
The  ounce  of  barley  would  contain  66.7  per  cent  of  starch,  while 
this  percentage  of  starch  in  each  ounce  of  barley  would  yield  77.3 
calories. 

The  salts  represent  the  percentage  in  100  parts,  and  barley 
contains  2.6  per  cent.  The  cellulose,  likewise,  is  parts  per  cent, 
and  barley  has  3.8  per  cent  of  cellulose. 

The  total  nutritive  value  is  secured  by  adding  together  all 
these  per  cents  of  protein,  fat,  starch,  salts,  and  cellulose.  This 
gives  for  barley,  a  total  nutritive  value  of  86.0  per  cent.  This 
represents  the  food  elements  which  can  be  digested  in  the  human 
system  except  that  the  cellulose  is  less  than  half  digested, —  in 
the  neighborhood  of  30  per  cent. 

The  water  content  is  obtained  by  subtracting  the  total  nu- 
tritive value  from  one  hundred,  after  the  percentage  of  these 
five  food  elements  is  known.  The  rest  of  the  food  is  water. 

Under  the  head  of  "  Starches  and  Sugars "  are  included  all 
carbohydrate  elements ;  that  is,  non-protein  elements  except  fat 
and  cellulose.  In  the  case  of  the  cereals  and  legumes  and  most 
vegetables,  this  carbohydrate  is  found  as  starch.  In  the  case  of 
the  ripe  fruits  and  some  of  the  vegetables,  it  appears  as  sugar. 
The  acids  of  fruits  are  also  included  under  this  head. 

367 


368  THE  SCIENCE  OF  LIVING 

The  total  amount  of  calories  or  fuel  value  per  ounce  is  secured 
by  adding  up,  as  in  the  case  of  barley,  the  proteid  calories,  fat 
calories,  and  starch  calories  in  one  ounce  of  barley.  This  gives 
the  total  calories  or  fuel  value  of  one  ounce  of  barley  as  95.7. 
That  is,  the  complete  burning  of  one  ounce  of  barley  in  the  body 
or  outside  the  body,  will  yield  just  95.7  calories,  or  heat  enough 
to  raise  95.7  kilograms  of  water  one  degree  centigrade. 

The  proportion  of  protein  to  other  elements  is  an  important 
item  in  dietetic  study.  For  instance,  if  one  desires  to  follow  the 
advice  in  the  chapter  on  Nutrition,  and  adopt  the  modern  low 
protein  diet,  he  would  want,  on  the  whole,  to  subsist  upon  foods 
in  which  the  protein  value  is  about  I  part  of  protein  to  10  of 
the  non-protein  elements. 

In  the  estimation  of  calories,  neither  salts  nor  cellulose  nor 
water  are  reckoned. 

The  total  digestion  time  of  the  food  tables  is  the  average 
time  that  food  remains  in  the  stomach.  This  is  only  relatively 
correct.  As  pointed  out  elsewhere,  mastication,  the  strength 
of  the  digestive  juices  of  the  stomach,  and  the  stomach  muscle, 
are  more  or  less  concerned  in  shortening  or  lengthening  this 
stime. 

In  the  last  column  of  the  food  tables  may  be  found  the  exact 
amount  of  any  raw  or  cooked  food  which  will  yield  100  calories. 
This  item  is  designed  to  facilitate  the  computation  of  bills  of 
fare  and  to  make  it  more  easy  to  arrange  special  and  individual 
diet  lists. 

How  to  ascertain  the  calories  in  i  ounce  of  any  food  when  the 
percentage  composition  is  known. 

1.  Multiply  the  protein  percentage  by   1.16 

2.  Multiply  the  fat  percentage  by 2.63 

3.  Multiply  the  carbohydrate  (sugar,  starch  and  acids) 

percentage  by    1.16 

Example :  Take  the  case  of  barley.  The  per  cent  of  protein 
is  10.5.  This  multiplied  by  1.16  gives  12.1  calories  in  i  ounce 
of  barley.  The  fat  per  cent  is  2.4.  This  multiplied  by  2.63 
gives  6.3  calories  in  i  ounce.  The  carbohydrate  per  cent  is 
66.7  This  multiplied  by  1.16  gives  77.3  calories  in  i  ounce. 
These  calories  added  together  —  protein  12.1,  fat  6.3,  and  car- 
bohydrate 77.3,  equal  95.7,  the  total  number  of  calories  in  i 
ounce  of  barley. 


APPENDIX  369 

How  to  find  the  percentage  value  of  any  food  when  the  cal- 
oric value  of  its  various  elements  per  ounce  is  known. 

1.  Divide  the  protein  calories  of  I  ounce  by    1.16 

2.  Divide  the  fat  calories  of  i  ounce  by    2.63 

3.  Divide  the  carbohydrate  calories  of  i  ounce  by    ...   1.16 

Example :  Barley  contains  12.1  protein  calories  in  i  ounce. 
Divide  12.1  by  1.16,  which  gives  10.5.  The  fat  calories,  6.3,  di- 
vided by  2.63  yields  2.4  per  cent  for  fat.  The  carbohydrate  cal- 
ories, 77.3,  divided  by  1.16  gives  carbohydrate  percentage  66.7. 
The  total  percentage  or  nutritive  value  of  barley  is  found  by 
adding  together  these  various  percentages  —  protein  10.5,  fat  2.4, 
carbohydrate  66.7,  which,  with  salts  2.6  and  cellulose  3.8,  gives 
86.0  per  cent  as  the  total  nutritive  value  of  barley. 


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INDEX 


385 


INDEX 


"  Abdominal  brain,"  13,  254. 

Abdominal  breathing,  27;  weaknesses,  38;  supporters,  57. 

Abrams,  Dr.,  on  the  blues,  33,  299. 

Absorption,  from  the  bowels,  8. 

Acid  dyspepsia,  causes,  69;  treatment  of,  70;  diet  for,  157;  and 
drinking  at  meals,  173. 

Acidity  of  the  blood  and  meat,  126;  of  stomach,  diet  for,  155. 

Acids,  effect  on  saliva,  67. 

Acids,  fruit  as  a  laxative,  155;  as  water  disinfectant,  184. 

Actinic  rays,  15. 

Actinomycosis  and  milk,  134. 

Adaptability  of  cells,  I. 

Adipose  tissue,  9. 

Adulterated  foods,  129;  water,  192. 

Adulteration  of  food,  results  of,  130;  and  rum  traffic,  131;  of 
dairy  products,  134;  of  cereals,  136;  of  canned  goods,  137;  of 
sugar  products,  138;  of  condiments,  140;  of  beverages,  142;  of 
medicines,  142. 

African  head  deformities,  53. 

Aged,  baths  for,  208. 

Agglutination  of  germs,  237. 

Air  sacs  of  the  lungs,  8;  chambers,  terminal,  26;  "lunches," 
necessity  for,  31,  350;  night,  33;  fresh,  267,  348;  composition, 
268;  humidity  of,  269;  changes,  how  effected,  270;  require- 
ments, 271,  348;  flushing,  272;  its  relation  to  health,  274;  germs 
in,  3*5- 

Air  pressure  in  the  lungs,  27;  in  general,  267;  cause  of  disease, 
309- 

Albuminoids,  80. 

"All  gone  feeling,"  160,  356. 

Allspice,  adulteration  of,  140. 


388  INDEX 

Almonds,  116. 

Alcohol,  effects  on  leucocytes,  12,  359;  cause  of  sunstroke,  21; 
in  tonics,  29 ;  comparison  of,  with  foods,  164 ;  nature  and  origin 
of,  164;  not  a  food,  164,  342;  the  truth  about,  164;  in  relation 
to  condiments,  170;  effects  on  kidneys,  198;  effects  on  blood 
pressure,  231;  general  effects,  231;  in  insanity,  231,  342;  cost 
of,  232 ;  a  nerve  poison,  263 ;  a  deceptive  drug,  341 ;  effects  on 
body,  342;  in  crime,  342;  in  idiocy,  342;  poisonous  properties 
of,  342 ;  remedial  value  of,  342 ;  effects  on  society,  343 ;  a  false 
friend,  358. 

Alcoholic  beverages,  effect  on  appetite,  148;  in  general,  163,  353. 

Americans,  why  they  succeed,  219. 

Amoeba,  reproduction  of,  5;  habits  of,  6;  simplicity  of,  6;  of 
dysentery,  333. 

Amusements,  259. 

Amylopsin,  73. 

Anaemia,  sunbaths  in,  20;  cause  of,  33;  diet  for,  156. 

Anatomy  of  the  respiratory  organs,  25;  of  voice  box,  28;  of 
muscles,  35;  of  digestive  organs,  63;  of  kidney,  195;  of  skin, 
195;  of  blood  vessels,  212;  of  heart,  212;  of  brain,  250;  of 
nerves,  251. 

Anger  and  blood  pressure,  226. 

Aniline  dyes  in  candy,  138 ;  test  for,  138. 

Animal  instincts,  2;  intelligence,  2;  body,  an  energy  consumer, 
17;  heat,  36;  heat,  nature  and  source  of,  83;  foods,  121;  prod- 
ucts, 124;  products,  adulteration  of,  131;  poisons,  cause  of 
disease,  310;  parasites,  cause  of  disease,  311;  products,  food 
tables,  379. 

Animals,  instinct  and  reason  of,  264;  as  disease  carriers,  333. 

Anthrax  and  milk,  134. 

Anti-acid  foods,  157. 

Anti- ferment  of  digestive  juices,  75;  fat  foods,  158. 

Anti-toxins,  operation  of,  240;  theory  of,  246. 

Ants,  ingenuity  of,  2;  intelligence  of,  264. 

Anxiety,  in  high  blood  pressure,  225. 

Apoplexy,  from  high  pressure,  221. 

Appendix,  367. 

Appetite,  how  increased,  44 ;  stimulates  saliva,  67 ;  juice,  of  Paw- 
low,  69;  in  general,  148;  necessity  for  controlling  the,  152,  355; 
poor,  foods  for,  154;  habit,  treatment,  161 ;  unperverted,  347; 
indication  of  digestive  power,  355. 


INDEX  389 

Apples,  in  general,  in;  baked,  in;  composition,  calories,  etc., 

372. 

Apricots,  112;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  372. 
Architects,  competent,  20. 
Arrowroot,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 
Art  of  eating,  the,  353. 
Arteries,  area  of,  10;  structure  of,  10,  212. 
Arterio-sclerosis,  diet  in,  158;  in  high  pressure,  221;  and  blood 

pressure,  225. 

Artichoke,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 
Artificial  immunity,  246. 
Artificial  jellies,  140. 
Aseptic  foods,  156. 

Asparagus,  118;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 
Assimilation,  of  food,  77;  by  the  cells,  78. 
Athletics,  harm  of,  41. 

Atmosphere,  moisture  of,  177 ;  the,  267 ;  hygiene  of,  315. 
Attenuation  of  germs,  237. 
Auto-intoxication  and   blood  pressure,   224;  treatment  of,  263; 

and  tired  feelings,  360. 
Auto-suggestive  therapeutics,  291. 

B 

Babies,  bathing  of,  207 ;  dangers  from  kissing,  323. 

Bacon,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Bacteria  in  milk,  135. 

Bad  food  combinations,  154. 

Baking  powders,  174. 

Balanced  ration,  the,  143. 

Baldness,  cause  of,  61. 

Bananas,  112. 

Barley,  106;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 

Barometer,  the,  267. 

Bath,  the  internal,  180,  356;  the  cleansing,  201. 

Bathing,  regular,  195,  357;  hygienic,  199;  necessity  for,  199;  re- 
sults of  neglecting,  199;  morning,  200;  facilities,  202;  outdoor, 
203;  tonic,  206;  infant,  207;  and  meal  hours,  209;  hints  con- 
cerning, 209;  in  heart  disease,  209;  in  kidney  disease,  209. 

Bathroom,  the,  203. 

Baths,  when  to  take,  202;  free,  203;  sea,  203;  swimming,  203; 


390  INDEX 

neutral,  204 ;  cabinet,  205 ;  cold,  205 ;  for  convulsions,  205 ;  hot, 
205 ;  Russian,  205 ;  Turkish,  205 ;  for  "  tired  feeling,"  207 ;  for 
the  aged,  208;  in  fever,  208;  duration  of,  210;  in  pain,  210; 
reaction  from,  210;  cold,  in  blood  pressure,  223;  in  blood  pres- 
sure, 228;  as  treatment  for  worry,  298. 

Bay  windows,  19. 

Beans,  dried,   126;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Beans,  string,  118;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Beavers,  dam,  i. 

Bedbugs,  19;  as  disease-carriers,  332,  362. 

Bedroom,  climate,  275,  349;  disease,  dangers  of,  319;  clothing,  61, 
352- 

Beds,  hard  and  soft,  61. 

Beech  nuts,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Beef  extract,  122;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Beef  flesh,  122;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Beef  tea,  122;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Beets,  118;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Berries,  the,  113. 

Beverages,  adulteration  of,  142;  alcoholic,  163;  composition,  cal- 
ories, etc.,  380. 

Bichloride  of  mercury,  340. 

Bicycle  scorcher,  40. 

Bile,  action  of,  72;  secretion  of,  72;  germicidal  action,  235. 

Biliousness,  cause  of,  79;  low  protein  diet,  85;  baths  for,  207. 

Bills  of  fare,  91. 

Biscuits,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 

"Bitters,"  stomach,  148. 

Blackberries,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  372. 

Blessings  of  deep  breathing,  30, 

Blood,  in  respiration,  26;  purifiers,  29,  217,  263;  how  purified,  29, 
217,  350;  poisons  and  breathing,  30;  oxygen  content,  31;  acid- 
ification of,  126;  how  alkalinized,  126;  circulation  of,  212: 
aeration  of,  214;  function  of,  216. 

Blood  cells,  10;  number  of,  12;  creation  of,  13. 

Blood  corpuscles,  red,  10,  214;  white,  II. 

Blood-making  foods,  156,  218. 

Blood  pressure,  218;  effects  of  high,  220;  how  taken,  220;  results 
of  high,  221;  cause  of  high,  222;  how  lowered,  227,  359; 
methods  of  lowering,  230;  natural  methods  in  raising,  232;  in 
relation  to  sleep,  261 ;  how  raised,  358, 


INDEX  391 

Blood  vessels,  function,  10;  structure,  212. 

Blueberries,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Blues  and  deep  breathing,  32,  350;  how  caused,  299. 

Board  of  health  regulations,  341. 

Bodily  exercise,  41. 

Bodily  heat,  conservation  of,  49. 

Body,  power  of  self-repair,  4;  structure  of,  5;  tissues  of,  7;  a 
commonwealth,  14,  347;  an  engine,  37;  total  strength  of,  37; 
clothing  of,  48;  nutrition  of,  77;  elimination  of  wastes  from. 
78 ;  fluids,  germicidal,  235,  358 ;  changes  in,  265 ;  work  and  brain 
work,  351. 

Body  cells,  specialization  of,  7;  and  leucocytes,  12. 

Body  wastes  increased  by  exercise,  46;  in  general,  78;  'germs 
and,  236;  and  importance  of,  354. 

Boiled  water,  192. 

Bologna  sausage,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Bones,  function,  9. 

Books  as  disease-carriers,  324. 

Borax,  131. 

Boric  acid,  131 ;  effect  on  animals,  131. 

Botanical  clock,  2. 

Bowel,  catarrh  of,  diet  in,  156;  condiments  in,  170. 

Bowel,  mucous  membrane  of,  8;  elimination  of  germs  by,  236; 
discharge,  disinfection,  318. 

Boys,  venereal  infection  of,  346. 

Brain  cells,  14;  action  and  breathing,  30;  foods,  218,  263;  human, 
250 ;  physiology  of,  252 ;  abdominal,  254 ;  fag,  262 ;  poisons,  263. 

Brazil  nuts,  116;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Breads,  fermented,  106;  unfermented,  107;  adulteration  of,  137; 
fresh,  objections  to,  171;  soft  and  doughy,  354;  composition, 
calories,  etc.,  370. 

Breakfast  foods,  mushy,  172. 

Breakfast  menus,  92. 

Breathing,  natural,  25,  350 ;  tubes,  25 ;  in  disease,  27 ;  rate,  27 ; 
exercises,  29;  shallow,  30;  and  mental  state,  30;  and  mental  ac- 
tion, 31;  and  bowel  action,  32;  and  digestion,  32;  and  the  liver, 
32 ;  and  exercise,  45 ;  restricted,  55 ;  perverted,  56 ;  and  baldness, 
61;  and  brain  action,  349;  deep,  349;  and  constipation,  350; 
shallow,  350;  superficial,  350. 

Bromides,  the,  in  high  pressure,  232. 

Bronchi,  the,  25 ;  terminal,  26. 


392  INDEX 

Bronchial  arteries,  the,  26. 

Bronchitis,  a  house  disease,  274. 

Brothels,  disease-carriers,  346. 

Bright's  disease,  increase  of,   130;  diet  in,  158;  cause  of,  198; 

from  high  pressure,  221. 
Bubonic  plague,  332. 

Buckwheat,  106;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 
Buns,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 
Butter,  in  general,  124;  adulteration  of,  135;  tests  for,   135;  a 

disease-carrier,  335;  sterilized,  336;  composition,  calories,  etc., 

379- 

Buttermilk,  124;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 
Butternuts,  116;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 


Cabbage,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Caffeine,  effects  of,  162. 

Cakes,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  380. 

Calisthenics,  43. 

Calories,  definition,  84 ;  required  daily,  86 ;  how  to  determine,  87 ; 
table  of  food,  97. 

Cancer,  increase  of,  130. 

Candy,  adulteration  of,  138;  when  objectionable,  166. 

Cane  sugar,  adulteration  of,  139 ;  in  general,  165 ;  effects  on  stom- 
ach, 1 66. 

Canned  goods,  adulteration  of,  137. 

Canned  meats,  adulteration  of,  133. 

Cantaloupe,  313;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Capacity  of  lungs,  28. 

Capillaries,  function  of,  10. 

Capillarity,  178. 

Carbohydrates,  how  eliminated,  79;  fuel  value,  84. 

Carbolic  acid,  318,  340. 

Carbonated   water,   194. 

Carbonic  acid  and  plants,  16;  exchange  in  lungs,  26;  how  de- 
tected, 268;  and  other  poisonous  gases,  273. 

Carpets,  faded  by  light,  20;  dangers  of,  316. 

Carrots,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Cartilage,  9. 

Catarrh,  baths  for,  207;  a  house  disease,  274. 


INDEX  393 

Catarrh  of  stomach,  see  under  Stomach. 

Cats  and  parasites,  333;  as  disease-carriers,  336. 

Catsup,  tomato,  141. 

Cauliflower,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Celery,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Cellar,  the,  and  microbes,  20;  ventilation  of,  20. 

Cells,  instincts  of,  I ;  adaptability  of,  I ;  unifying  influence  of,  2 ; 
reproduction  of,  5;  composition  of,  6;  number  in  body,  6; 
specialized,  6;  living,  7;  epithelial,  7;  specialized  work  of,  7; 
connective  tissue,  9;  fat,  9;  muscle,  9;  blood,  the,  10;  lymph, 
12;  nerve,  13;  brain  and  cord,  14;  respiration  of,  31;  assimila- 
tion of  food  by,  78;  amoeboid  movement  of,  244;  giant,  244. 

Cellulose,  amount  digested,  74;  place  in  nutrition,  82;  and  diges- 
tion, 145;  a  laxative,  155. 

Cereal  coffee,  380. 

Cereals,  study  of,  105;   adulteration  of,   136;    food  tables,  370. 

Chair  diseases,  38;  reform,  38. 

Cheerfulness  and  blood  pressure,  229;  its  value,  297;  and  worry, 
298;  and  digestion,  354. 

Cheese,  manufacture  of,  68 ;  in  general,  125 ;  cottage,  125 ;  adul- 
teration of,  136;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Chemical  rays  of  light,  15;  energy,  23;  juice,  how  secreted,  70; 
messages,  action  of,  73. 

Chemistry  of  water,  176;  of  air,  268. 

Cherries,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Chest  breathing,  27. 

Chest,  flat,  33 ;  significance  of,  350. 

Chestnuts,   117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Chewing,  thorough,  144;  summary  of,  146. 

Chicken,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Children  and  sunlight,  20;  stunting  of,  276;  worries  of,  287; 
value  of  society  of,  300. 

Chills,  malarial,  37. 

Chimney  in  ventilation,  271 ;   smoky,  272. 

Chinese,  foot  binding,  53. 

Chittenden,  Prof.,  on  nutrition,  85. 

Chloride  of  lime,  340. 

Chlorophyl,  16. 

Cholera,  conquest  of,   130;  Asiatic,  316. 

Christian  Science,  301 ;  cures  of,  303. 

Christianity,  therapeutic  value  of,  297. 


394  INDEX 

Chronic  diseases,  3,  130. 

Churches  as  disease-spreaders,  277;  ventilation  of,  277,  349. 

Ciliated  epithelium,  8;  action  of,  25. 

Cinnamon,  adulteration  of,  141. 

Circulation,  of  the  lungs,  25 ;  promoted  by  breathing,  31 ;  and 

exercise,  45;  in  general,  212;  physiology  of,  213. 
Cities  and  venereal  infection,  346. 
City  slums,  the,  345. 

Clam  chowder,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 
Classification  of  tissues,  7;  of  muscles,  9;  of  foods,  105. 
Climate  as  a  disease-cause,  307. 
Closets,  country,  care  of,  325. 
Closets,  dry  earth,  325. 

Clothing,  winter,  48;  summer,  51;  injurious  effects  of,  53. 
Coagulation  of  fibrin,  239. 
Coal,  relation  to  light,  16. 
Coal  oil  and  fleas,  330;  and  mosquitoes,  331. 
Coal-tar  dyes,  138. 

Cocaine  and  blood  pressure,  222;  a  nerve  poison,  263. 
Cocoa,  breakfast,  162. 

Cocoanuts,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 
Codfish,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 
Coffee,   action   on   saliva,   67;   adulteration   of,    142;    effects   on 

health,  162;  amount  used,  163,  224;  and  high  pressure,  223;  a 

nerve  poison,  263 ;  predisposes  to  disease,  344 ;  a  stimulant,  354. 
Cold  baths,  morning,  200;  natural  tonic,  200;  effects  of,  201,  357; 

who  should  take,  202;  in  general,  205;  in  low  pressure,  233; 

how  to  take,  357. 
Cold,  a  disease  cause,  308. 
Cold  hands  and  feet,  how  cured,  31;  symptom  of,  45;  weather 

clothing,  48;   foods,  dangers   from,   159;   storage  meats,   169; 

air  in  tuberculosis,  338. 
Colds,  from  errors  in  dress,  50;  from  chilling  feet,  52;  baths  for, 

205,  207;  hot  packs  for,  211;  a  house  disease,  274;  spread  of, 

3i9- 

Colon,  anatomy  of,  65 ;  bacillus  and  high  pressure,  225. 
Color,  16. 

Comparative  effects  of  food  and  alcohol,  164. 
Compress,  the  heating,  228. 
Compressibility  of  liquids,  178. 
Condensed  milk,  adulteration  of,  136. 


INDEX  395 

Condiments,  adulteration  of,  140;  in  general,  169;  and  alcohol 
appetite,  170;  summary  of  effects,  170;  and  high  pressure,  224. 

Connective  tissue,  9. 

Conquest  of  disease,  3,  347. 

Conscience  and  blood-pressure,  226;  and  sleep,  261. 

Constipation  and  old  age,  12;  relieved  by  breathing,  32;  trunk 
bending  in,  44;  aided  by  walking,  44;  causes  of,  44;  from  cor- 
sets, 55;  and  low  protein  diet,  85;  foods  producing,  156;  tea- 
drinking  in,  163;  baths  for,  206,  207;  and  blood-pressure,  225; 
relation  to  worry,  299. 

Constriction  of  waist  by  corsets,  54. 

Consumption  germs,  destroyed  by  light,  18;  how  spread,  338; 
how  cured,  339;  how  prevented,  339;  and  spitting,  361. 

Contagion,  how  spread,  318;  life  of,  318. 

Contagious  diseases,  311;  disinfection  in,  318. 

Contamination  of  water,  188;  of  soil,  317. 

Convulsions,  baths  for,  205. 

Cook  stove,  abuse  of,  149;  value  of,  354. 

Cooking  barley,  106;  breads,  107;  corn,  108;  macaroni,  109;  oat- 
meal, 109;  rice,  109;  starches,  no;  wheat,  no;  fruits,  in; 
bananas,  112;  cabbage,  119;  beans,  126. 

Cooking,  problems  of,  149;  effects  of  bad,  150,  172;  errors  of,  174. 

Cooks,  qualifications  for,  149. 

Copper  sulphate,  340. 

Corn,  calories  in,  22 ;  evaporation  from,  22 ;  weight  lifted  by,  22 ; 
in  general,  107;  green,  119;  products,  composition,  calories,  etc., 
370. 

Corns,  8. 

Corpuscles,  red  blood,  10;  white  blood,  n. 

Corrosive  sublimate,  340. 

Corsets  and  breathing,  27;  arguments  for,  54;  deformities  of,  54; 
and  female  weaknesses,  55;  cause  of  tumors,  55;  and  diseases, 
55 ;  restrict  breathing,  55 ;  hygienic,  56. 

Corti,  organ  of,  13,  256. 

Cotton  as  a  heat  conductor,  49. 

Coughing,  27. 

Cowpox  and  vaccination,  247. 

Crackers,  107;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  370. 

Cranberries,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Cream,  in  general,  124;  adulteration  of,  135;  composition,  cal- 
ories, etc.,  379. 


396  INDEX 

"Crisis"  in  pneumonia,  n. 

Cucumbers,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Cup,  the  loving,  322. 

Cure  of  worry,  291 ;  of  disease,  fraudulent,  301. 

Currants,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Curvature  of  spine,  33. 

Custards,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  380. 


Daily  exercise  required,  41 ;  food  requirements,  84 ;  ration,  the, 
87;  food  required,  children,  90;  food  required,  adults,  90,  91; 
water  required,  181 ;  sweat  and  health,  351. 

Dairy  products,  24;  adulteration  of,  134;  disease  carriers,  335. 

Dandelion  greens,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Dates,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Day's  work,  average,  42. 

Debility  and  cell  respiration,  31. 

Debts  and  worry,  299. 

Decayed  meats,  dangers,  355. 

Deep  breathing,  and  worry,  30;  blessings  of,  30;  and  the  blues, 
32;  in  general,  349;  and  the  circulation,. 351. 

Deformities,  fashion,  54, 

Delsarte,  value  of,  43. 

Despondency  and  sunstroke,  21. 

Desserts,  dangers  from,  171 ;  food  tables,  380. 

Dew,  the,  179. 

Dextrine,  how  formed,  67;  stages  of,  81. 

Dextrinized  cereals,  155. 

Diabetes,  130. 

Diabetic  foods,  157. 

Dialysis,  178. 

Diaphragm,  the,  26;  in  breathing,  30,  351. 

Diarrhoea  and  drinking  water,  190 ;  and  raw  foods,  323 ;  and 
flies,  327 ;  and  milk,  335. 

Diastase  of  cereals,  66. 

Diet,  changes  and  digestion,  71 ;  lists,  special,  154;  variety  in,  159; 

and  taste,  170;  in  high  pressure,  229. 
Difficulties,  minimizing,  293. 
Digestion  and  breathing,  32,  349;  and  exercise,  44;  marvels  of, 


INDEX  397 

63;  physiology  of,  65;  and  emotions,  71;  movements  of,  76; 
and  food  preservatives,  131;  and  mental  state,  153;  slow,  154; 
and  cane  sugar,  166;  and  worry,  299. 

Digestive  ferments,  65;  action  of,  66;  organs,  anatomy  of,  63. 

Dinner  menus,  95. 

Diphtheria,  conquest  of,  130;  and  milk,  134,  335;  symptoms  of, 
238;  sequelae  of,  311;  contagion  from,  318;  and  pets,  336;  and 
sweat  shops,  345. 

Diphtheria  anti-toxin,  241 ;  theory  of,  246. 

Disappointment  and  high  pressure,  225. 

Disease,  conquest  of,  3 ;  definition  of,  3 ;  germ,  increase  of,  3 ; 
caused  by  chairs,  38;  caused  by  corsets,  55;  chronic,  increase 
of,  130;  how  the  body  resists,  234;  hereditary,  266;  caused  by 
worry,  285 ;  of  the  mind,  287 ;  fraudulent  cures  of,  301 ;  causes 
of,  306 ;  prevention  of,  306,  361 ;  predisposing  causes  of,  307 ; 
exciting  causes  of,  308;  injury  a  cause  of,  308;  contagious,  311 ; 
how  spread,  311;  soil  of,  312;  venereal,  346;  laws  of,  347;  in- 
creased by  nostrums,  361. 

Dishes,  multiplicity  of,  159;  disinfection  of,  318. 

Disinfectants  and  deodorants,  340. 

Distillation,  179. 

Dogs,  dietetic  experiments  on,  71 ;  and  parasites,  333 ;  as  disease- 
carriers,  336. 

Domestic  pets  and  disease,  336. 

Drafts,  reaction  to,  50. 

Dressings,  food  tables,  380. 

Drinking  at  meals,  172,  182,  354;  in  cases  of  sour  stomach,  173; 
of  pure  water,  176,  356;  physiology  of,  179;  how  and  when, 
182. 

Drinking  water,  316;  cups,  public,  320;  fountains,  321, 

Dropsy,  salt  in,  167. 

Drug  habits,  increase  of,  130;  in  general,  344. 

Drugs,  sleep-producing,  dangers,  262,  359;  in  treatment  of  worry, 
298;  delusion  of,  341. 

Duck,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Dumb-bells,  43. 

Dust,  dangers  of,  315;  household,  316. 

Duster,  feather,  316. 

Dusting,  methods  of,  316. 

Dwelling,  air  and  light,  19;  desirable  site  for,  19. 

Dyes,  poisonous,  in  clothing,  49;  aniline,  in  candy,  138. 


INDEX 

Dyspepsia,  sunbaths  in,  20;  relation  to  idleness,  44;  how  caused, 
69;  oil  in,  70;  acid,  diet  for,  157;  baths  in,  206,  207. 


Ear,  the,  256. 

Eating,  simple,  143;  too  much,  160;  too  often,  161 ;  art  of,  353. 

Echinococcus,  333. 

Edema,  malignant,  317. 

Eel,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Egg  plant,  120;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Eggnog,  125. 

Eggs,  in  general,  125;  how  preserved,  133;  cooking  of,  174;  com- 
position, calories,  etc.,  379. 

Electricity,  disease  cause,  309. 

Elimination  of  body  wastes,  see  under  Body  wastes. 

Emaciation,  diet  for,  156. 

Endurance  and  diet,  169. 

Enema  habit,  how  to  prevent,  203. 

Enemas  in  low  pressure,  233. 

Energy,  sun,  21;  chemical,  23;  snowball,  24;  granules,  253. 

Enterokinase,  74, 

Enzymes,  digestive,  65;  effects  of  cooking,  151. 

Epidemics,  311. 

Epilepsy,  130. 

Epithelial  cells,  7. 

Epithelium,  of  digestive  tract,  7;  ciliated,  8;  of  bowels,  8;  of 
lungs,  8. 

Erepsin,  74. 

Eustachian  tubes,  269. 

Evening  dress,  dangers  of,  50. 

Excreta,  disinfection  of,  340. 

Exercise,  breathing,  29,  35 ;  muscular,  35,  44,  351 ;  required  daily, 
41 ;  systematic,  41 ;  agreeable,  42 ;  indoor,  42 ;  for  invalids,  43 ; 
gymnastic,  43 ;  self-resistive,  43 ;  and  digestion,  44 ;  daily  sweat- 
ing, 44;  and  the  circulation,  45;  and  respiration,  45;  excessive, 
dangers  of,  45;  increases  heart  action,  45;  and  the  mind,  46; 
dangers  of,  46;  a  poison  destroyer,  46;  well-balanced,  46;  and 
heat  stroke,  47;  for  weak  muscles,  57;  in  low  pressure,  227; 
in  raising  pressure,  232;  regular,  351;  and  body  poisons,  352. 

Exhaustion,  baths  for,  204. 


INbEX  399 


Exposure  and  high  pressure,  225. 
Extracts,  flavoring,  see  under  Flavoring. 
Extremes  of  temperature  in  food,  159. 
Extremities,  clothing  of,  57. 
Eye,  255;  sore,  319. 


Fabrics,  "weighing"  of,  49. 

Fads  and  worry,  288. 

Faith  cures,  in  blood  pressure,  230;  in  cure  of  worry,  295;  how 

they  cure,  301 ;  classification,  302. 
Fashion  deformities,  54. 
Fat,  lessens   stomach   secretion,  70;   how  assimilated,   78;   how 

eliminated,   79 ;    element    of   nutrition,   81 ;    classification,   81 ; 

fuel  value,  84;  a  laxative,  155. 
Fat  cells,  9. 

Fatigue,  sensation  of,  2,  347;  cause  of,  37;  and  sleep,  262. 
Fattening  foods,  157. 
Fatty  tissue,  9. 

Fear,  effects  on  digestion,  71 ;  special,  284. 
Feet,  cold,  baths  for,  207. 
Female  porters,  strength  of,  53;   weakness   from  clothing,  53; 

weakness  and  corsets,  55 ;  complaints,  causes,  353. 
"Ferments,"  digestive,  65. 
Fever,  drinking  water  in,  193,  356;  baths  in,  208;  in  infectious 

diseases,  237 ;  in  destruction  of  toxins,  241. 
Fibrin,  coagulation  of,  239. 
Figs,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 
Filbert  nuts,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 
Filters  and  filtration,  191. 
Finger  nails,  disease-carriers,  320. 
Fish,  in  general,  123;  poisoning  from,  133;  composition,  calories, 

etc.,  377. 

Flat  chests,  symptoms  of,  33;  and  chairs,  38. 
Flats,  undesirable,  19. 
Flatulency,  diet  for,  156. 

Flavoring  extracts,  adulteration  of,  141 ;  artificial,  141. 
Fleas,  as  disease-carriers,  332,  362. 
Flesh  foods,  121 ;  and  high  pressure,  224 ;  composition,  calories, 

etc.,  377. 
Fletcher,  Horace,  on  swallowing,  68;  on  mastication,  144. 


400  INDEX 

Fletcherism,  arguments  concerning,  145. 

Fletcherizing,  144;  summary  of,   146. 

Flies  and  country  closets,  325 ;  as  disease-carriers,  327,  362 ; 
classification  of,  328;  development  of,  329;  how  to  kill,  329; 
how  to  prevent,  330. 

Flours,  no;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  372. 

Fly  traps,  329;  paper,  329;  poisons,  329. 

Fly,  tsetse,  330. 

Fomentations,  228. 

Food  requirements,  daily,  84;  requirements,  how  to  determine, 
87;  requirements  for  children,  90;  requirements  for  adults,  90, 
91;  calories,  97;  frauds,  129;  laws,  pure,  131;  preservatives, 
131 ;  preservatives  and  indigestion,  131 ;  combinations,  153 ; 
combinations,  good  and  bad,  154;  tables.  370;  tables,  explana- 
tion of,  367,  370. 

Food,  nitrogenous,  79 ;  study  of,  104 ;  classification  of,  105 ;  adul- 
terated, 129;  tainted,  dangers  of,  129;  poisoned,  129;  results  of 
adulteration  of,  130;  adulterated,  amount  sold,  131;  special 
diet  lists  of,  154;  peptogenic,  154;  laxative,  155;  compared  with 
alcohol,  164;  preparation  of,  172;  service  of,  172;  liquid,  172; 
raw,  a  disease-carrier,  323;  and  flies,  328;  hard,  value  of,  354; 
tainted,  354. 

Foot,  the,  deformed  by  shoes,  52. 

Formaldehyde,  preservative,  131;  effects  of,  134;  as  a  fumigant, 
315;  in  general,  340. 

Formulae,  dietetic,  87,  88. 

Fountains,  drinking,  321. 

Free  baths,  in  Chicago,  203. 

Freezing,  water,  expansion  of,  24;  mixtures,  177. 

French  heel  shoes,  52. 

Fresh  air,  267;  and  health,  348. 

Fretting  and  worry,  283. 

Friction  in  lowering  blood  pressure,  227. 

Fried  foods,  174. 

Frogs'  legs,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Fruit  jellies,  114;  juices,  in  slow  digestion,  154;  sugars,  in  slow 
digestion,  154;  acids,  laxative,  155;  juices,  as  beverages,  183. 

Fruits,  in  general,  in;  cooking  of,  in;  disease-carriers,  316; 
food  tables  of,  372 ;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  372,  373. 

Fuel  value  of  foods,  84. 

Function  of  muscles,  35;  of  blood,  216. 


INDEX  401 


Funerals,  public,  dangers  of,  323. 

Furnace,  hot  air,  271 ;  wrong  construction,  272. 

Furs,  49;  dangers,  353. 


Gall  bladder,  the,  72. 

Gambling  and  high  pressure,  226. 

Games,  in  worry,  300. 

Ganglia,  basal,  250;  basal,  function  of,  252;  sympathetic,  252. 

Gangrene,  308. 

Garantose,  139. 

Garbage  cans  and  flies,  330. 

Garters,  50. 

Gases,  poisonous,  273. 

Gastric  juice  and  taste,  68;  secretion  of,  68;  types  of,  70;  rate  of 
action,  147;  germ-killer,  235. 

Gastric  ulcer,  causes,  69;  diet  in,  157. 

Gautier,  on  diet  formulae,  87;  on  acidity  of  the  blood,  126. 

Germicidal  body  fluids,  235. 

Germ  poisons,  disease-cause,  310. 

Germ-proof  skin,  235. 

Germs  destroyed  by  light,  17;  the  body's  defence  against,  234; 
elimination  of,  236 ;  how  crippled,  237 ;  incapsulation  of,  239 ; 
digestion  of,  240;  toxins,  how  destroyed,  240;  destroyed  by 
leucocytes,  244;  a  cause  of  disease,  310;  how  subdued,  314;  on 
fruits  and  vegetables,  316;  in  the  soil,  317;  on  house  furnish- 
ings, 319;  on  drinking  cups,  320;  and  kissing,  322;  in  milk, 
335- 

Giant  cells,  244. 

Ginger,  adulteration  of,  141. 

Girls,  "  form  moulding,"  54. 

Glanders  and  milk,  135 ;  how  contracted,  335. 

Glands,  sweat,  8;  lymph,  12. 

Glass  houses,   19. 

Gloves,  52. 

Gluten  flour,  fraudulent,  136;  mush,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Glycogen,  78. 

Goitre,  193. 

Golden  Rule,  the,  300 ;  in  health,  359. 

Gonorrhea,  346. 

Goose,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 


402  INDEX 

Gooseberries,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Gout  and  protein  ashes,  79;  diet  for,  158. 

Graham  gems,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Grains.  105;  milky  stage,  no;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Granola,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Granules,  energy,  253. 

Grape  fruit,  114;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Grapes,  114;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Gravies,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  380. 

Gravitation,  2. 

Green  corn,  119. 

Green  peas,  120. 

Greens,  120;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Grief  and  high  pressure,  225. 

Gymnastic  exercises,  43. 

H 

Habit  appetite,  treatment  of,  161. 

Habits,  causing  high  pressure,  222;  how  formed,  252;  as  a  dis- 
ease cause,  307. 

Hairs,  8. 

Hall,  Dr.,  on  alcohol,  164, 

Hands  as  disease-carriers,  320. 

Hard  foods,  value  of,  354. 

Hard  water,  187. 

Hats,  cause  of  headaches,  60;  cause  of  baldness,  61;  and  head- 
dress, 352. 

Hazelnuts,  117. 

Headache,  from  heavy  hats,  60 ;  from  "  rats,"  61 ;  from  tea  and 
coffee,  163;  from  protein  ashes,  168;  baths  for,  207;  from 
drugs,  344. 

Headdress,  60. 

Health  and  disease,  3 ;  defined,  3 ;  and  corsets,  56 ;  and  food 
frauds,  137;  contagious,  234;  and  the  atmosphere,  274;  and 
thoughts,  296;  hints,  347;  laws  of,  347. 

Hearing,  sense  of,  256. 

Heart,  muscle,  9 ;  beat,  10 ;  daily  work,  10 ;  athletic,  41 ;  beat  and 
exercise,  45;  dilatation  of,  45;  burn,  diet  for,  155;  structure  of, 
212;  action  of,  213;  failure,  221. 

Heat  rays,  15;  stroke,  21;  animal,  36;  and  exercise,  47;  produced 


INDEX  403 

by  body,  83;  latent,  176;  in  high  pressure,  228;  a  cause  of  dis- 
ease, 308. 

Heating  compress,  the,  228. 

"  Heel  raising  "  exercise,  42.  i 

Heels,   rubber,   53. 

Hereditary  immunity,  246. 

Heredity  and  personality,  265;  and  disease,  266,  348;  and  the 
nervous  system,  266;  cause  of  disease,  307. 

Herring,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Hiccough,  27. 

Hickory-nuts,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

High  blood  pressure,  effects  of,  221;  habits,  222;  how  lowered, 
227;  wrong  methods  of  treating,  230;  results  of,  358. 

High-pressure  life,  the,  219;  living,  357. 

Hints  on  health,  347. 

Hogs  and  trichina,  333. 

Holiday,  mid-week,  260;  spirit  of,  296. 

Home,  the,  and  sunlight,  19;  site  for,  19. 

Honey,  adulteration  of,  139. 

Koodoos,  284. 

Hook  worms,  333 ;  disease,  335. 

Hormones,  chemical  messengers,  73. 

Hot  weather  clothing,  51;  foods,  dangers,  159;  water  drinking, 
194;  baths,  205;  blanket  packs,  211. 

House,  air   space   for,   19;   foundation  of,  20;  ventilation,  270, 
349;  temperature  of,  272;  diseases,  274,  349;  tuberculous,  338. 

Household  cares  in  worry,  289;  dust,  dangers  from,  316;  furnish- 
ings and  disease,  318. 

Human  body,  structure  of,  5;  cells  of,  6;  light  of,  23. 

Hydatid  cysts,  334. 

Hydrochloric  acid,  69. 

Hydrophobia,  conquest  of,  130;  in  general,  337. 

Hygiene,  modern,  4;  and  sanitation,  306;  of  the  air,  315. 

Hygienic  spendthrifts,  4,  348;  bathing,  119. 

Hypnotism,  295,  301. 

Hypochondria,  285. 

Hysteria,  285. 

I 

Ice,  impure,  189 ;  a  typhoid  carrier,  317. 
Ice  bag,  for  weak  heart,  233. 


404  INDEX 

Ice-cold  foods,  dangers  of,  160. 

Ice  cream,  adulteration  of,  136;  a  disease  carrier,  336. 

Ice  water,  dangers,  182. 

Idiocy,  130. 

Immorality,  diseases  of,  345. 

Immunity,  theory  of,  245,  311. 

Incapsulation  of  germs,  239. 

Increase  in  germ  diseases,  3. 

Indian  clubs,  43,  351;  head  binding,  53. 

Industrial  ventilation,  275;  causes  of  worry,  289. 

Infant  mortality  and  milk,  131 ;  bathing,  207. 

Infants,  kissing  of,  323. 

Inflammatory  exudate,  238. 

Influenza,  319. 

Insanity,  130;  and  alcohol,  231,  342. 

Insomnia,  baths  for,  204;  treatment  of,  262;  from  drugs,  344. 

Instinct  of  cells,  i;  man's  natural,  2;  in  general,  264;  natural, 
347- 

Intelligence,  animal,  2;  plant,  2. 

Internal  respiration,  26;  bath,  the,  180. 

Intestinal  villi,  8;  anatomy,  65;  juice,  74;  movements,  75;  fer- 
mentation, 225;  worms,  361. 

Inventions  and  worry,  289. 

Invertase,  74. 

Involuntary  muscles,  9,  36;  nerves,  13. 

Irish  moss,  composition,  etc.,  371. , 

Irritation  as  a  cause  of  disease,  308. 

Isolation  in  disease,  341. 

Itch  mite,  the,  333. 

J 

Jams,  140. 

Jellies,  fruit,  114;  adulteration  of,  140. 


Kellogg,  Dr.,  on  chair  reform,  39. 

Kerosene  and  fleas,  330;  and  mosquitoes,  331. 

Kidney,  the,  in  blood  purification,  29;  elimination  of  uric  acid, 
79;  in  general,  195;  overworked,  198;  physiology  of,  198;  elim- 
ination of  germs,  236. 


INDEX  405 


Kissing  as  a  disease  carrier,  322. 

Knickerbockers,  58. 

Koumiss,  composition,  etc.,  379. 


Labor  troubles  and  worry,  290. 

Lactic  acid,  69. 

Lard,  adulteration  of,  133;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Larynx,  the,  25. 

Laws  of  health  and  disease,  3 ;  of  life,  347. 

Lead  poisoning,  tin  cans,  137;  drinking  water,  189. 

Leeches,  333. 

Legumes,  in  general,  126;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Lemonade,  184. 

Lemons,  action  on  saliva,  67;  in  general,  114;  composition,  cal- 
ories, etc.,  373. 

Lentils,  127;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Leprosy,  332. 

Letters,  disease-carriers,  319. 

Lettuce,  120;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Leucocytes,  n;  germ-destroyers,  n,  244;  in  old  age,  12,  243; 
wall  of,  239;  scavengers,  243. 

Libraries,  disease  dangers,  324, 

Lice,  333- 

Life,  laws  of,  347;  natural,  the,  347. 

Light,  physics  of,  15;  rays,  15;  velocity  of,  15;  and  chlorophyl, 
16;  germ-destroyer,  17;  in  the  home,  19;  and  children,  20; 
from  the  body,  23. 

Limbs,  clothing  of,  57. 

Linen,  as  a  heat-conductor,  45;  underclothing,  50,  59;  disinfec- 
tion of,  318. 

Liquid  foods,  diet  list,  157;  in  general,  172. 

Liquids,  expansion  of,  178;  equilibrium  of,  178. 

Liver,  blood  purifier,  29;  aided  by  breathing,  32;  action  on  pro- 
teins, 79;  circulation  of,  215;  toxin-destroyer,  241;  anatomy 
of,  264;  relation  to  worry,  299;  "fluke"  disease,  334;  filter  and 
furnace,  358. 

Lobster,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Lockjaw,  130;  germs  of,  317. 

Low  blood  pressure,  treatment,  232. 


406  INDEX 

Lungs,  epithelium  of,  8;  circulation  of,  25,  214;  capacity  of,  28; 
blood  purifiers,  29;  unused  capacity,  45;  elimination  of  poisons, 
237. 

Lymph  spaces,  10;  cells,  12;  glands,  12,  215;  vessels,  213;  circula- 
tion, 215;  glands,  function  of,  244;  germ  fighters,  245. 

M 

Macaroni,  108;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Mackerel,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Macrophags,  the,  243. 

Mad  dogs,  337. 

Magnetic  healing,  301. 

Maize,  107. 

Malaria,  how  caught,  34 ;  fever,  purpose  of,  37 ;  conquest  of,  130 ; 
in  general,  331. 

Malted  nuts,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Maltose,  66. 

Man,  natural  instincts  of,  2;  outdoor  animal,  18,  348;  working 
machine,  37;  moral  being,  264;  distinguished  from  animals, 
264;  mightier  than  the  microbe,  313. 

Manure,  fly-breeder,  329. 

Maple  syrup,  139. 

Massage  for  weak  muscles,  57;  in  high  blood  pressure,  227;  in 
low  blood  pressure,  232. 

Mastication,  thorough,  144,  353;  overdoing,  145;  summary,  146; 
and  condiments,  170. 

Meal  hours,  151 ;  intervals  between,  161. 

Meals,  mistakes  made  at,  159;  drinking  at,  172. 

Measles,  sequelae,  311. 

Meat  eating,  in  sunstroke,  21 ;  in  general,  121 ;  preserved,  131 ; 
canned,  adulterated,  133;  eating,  effects  of,  168;  digestibility, 
169;  cooking,  174;  and  high  pressure,  224;  inspection,  334. 

Medicines,  adulteration  of,  142;  patent,  344. 

Melancholia  and  idleness,  46. 

Memory  and  the  leucocytes,  243. 

Men,  breathing  of,  27. 

Mental  state  and  digestion,  153;  work  and  digestion,  174;  dis- 
eases from  high  blood  pressure,  221 ;  factors  in  high  pressure, 
229;  causes  of  worry,  282;  idleness  and  worry,  283;  healing, 
key  of,  294;  therapeutics  and  worry,  294;  therapeutics,  fraud- 
ulent, 301 ;  rest,  359. 


INDEX  407 

Menus,  91 ;  breakfast,  92 ;  dinner,  95. 

Mesmerism,  301. 

Metabolism,  definition,  77;  and  condiments,  170. 

Metchnikoff,  on  old  age,  12. 

"  Miasmas,"  a  delusion,  33. 

Microbes  destroyed  by  light,  17;  purify  water,  191;  body's  de- 
fence against,  234;  how  the  body  destroys,  240;  how  subdued, 
314;  of  the  air,  315. 

Microphags  as  germ  destroyers,  244. 

Milk,  enzymes  of,  66;  in  general,  125;  and  infant  mortality,  131; 
adulterants,  134;  contaminations,  134;  preservatives,  134; 
standard  of,  134,  336;  condensed,  adulteration  of,  136;  dis- 
ease-carrier, 335 ;  microbes  in,  335 ;  composition,  calories,  etc., 

379- 

Millet,  composition,  etc.,  371. 
Mincemeat,  adulteration,  133. 
Mind,  how  beclouded,  30 ;  and  exercise,  46 ;  relation  to  sleep,  261 ; 

diseases,  287;  power  over  matter,  305. 
Mineral  salts,  82;  waters,  173;  poisons,  310. 
Molasses,  adulteration  of,  139. 
Monkey,  intelligence  of,  264. 
Moral  struggle  and  exercise,  46;  causes  of  high  pressure,  226; 

management  of  high  pressure,  229;  causes  of  worry,  285;  ther- 
apeutics, 297;  deception  in  therapeutics,  302. 
Morning  bathing,  200. 
Morphine  and  high  pressure,  230;  effects  of,  230;  nerve  poison, 

263 ;  false  friend,  358 ;  effects  on  leucocytes,  359. 
Mosquitoes  in  malaria,  34;  prevention  of,  331;  and  disease,  331; 

disease-carriers,  361. 
Motor  nerves,  252. 
Mountain  sickness,  269. 

Mouth,  the,  64;  cleansing  of,  21 1 ;  breathing,  350. 
Movements  of  stomach  and  bowel,  75. 
Mucous  membrane  of  stomach  and  bowel,  8. 
Muscles,  9;  classification,  26 ; 'respiration  of,  26;  function  of,  35; 

treatment  of  weak,  56,  57. 
Mushes,  dangers  of,  171. 

Mushrooms,  energy  of,  22;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 
Muskmelons,  113. 

Mustard,  adulteration  of,  140;  effects  on  stomach,  170. 
Mutton.  123;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  378. 


408  INDEX 

N 

Nails,  finger,  how  formed,  8;  disease-carriers,  320. 

Narcotics  and  sunstroke,  21. 

Natural  instincts,  man's,  2;  breathing,  25;  breathing,  expansion 
in,  27;  tonic,  air,  28;  immunity,  246;  life,  laws  of,  347. 

Nature  alone  heals,  247. 

Nectarines,  114;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Nerve  cells,  13;  paths,  13,  251;  energy,  253;  impulses,  253;  cells, 
in  relation  to  thought,  258 ;  foods,  263 ;  poisons,  263. 

Nerves,  classes  of,  13;  sympathetic,  13,  251;  of  the  muscles,  36; 
of  the  skin,  197;  of  the  heart,  213;  anatomy  of,  251 ;  physiology 
of,  252;  sympathetic,  physiology  of,  254. 

Nervous  diseases,  increase  in,  130;  prostration,  206;  prostration, 
treatment,  263;  system  and  heredity,  266;  exhaustion,  symp- 
toms, 360. 

Nervousness,  baths  for,  207;  from  drugs,  344. 

Neuralgia,  low  protein  diet  in,  85;  diet  in,  158. 

Neurasthenia,  baths  in,  206;  in  general,  285. 

Neuricity  currents,  253. 

Neuron,  the,  13,  251. 

Neutral  bath,  the,  204,  357;  to  lower  blood  pressure,  227. 

New  Thought,  301. 

Night  air,  33,  350;  clothing,  61. 

Nitrogenous  foods,  79. 

Nose,  the,  256. 

Nourished  life,  the,  143. 

Nursery,  location  of,  20,  348. 

Nutrition  of  the  body,  77;  elements  of,  79;  disordered  by  condi- 
ments, 170;  spiritual,  297. 

Nuts,  116;  food  tables,  calories,  etc.,  375 


Oatmeal,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Oats,  109;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Obesity,  diet  for,  158;  baths  in,  207. 

Obsession,  284. 

Odors,  257. 

Oils,  lessen  secretion,  70. 

Old  age  and  leucocytes,  12 ;  people,  baths  for,  208. 


INDEX  409 

Oleomargarine,  composition,  etc.,  379. 

Olive  oil,  114;  adulteration  of,  141. 

Olives,  114;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Omentum,  the,  245. 

Onions,  120;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Opsonin,  in  pneumonia,  n;  action  of,  243. 

Optic  nerve,  13. 

Oranges,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Organ  of  Corti,  13. 

Oriental  nations,  diet  of,  85. 

Orioles'  nest,  i. 

Outdoor  life,  the,  and  vitality,  18;  bathing,  203;  life,  the,  267; 

bedrooms,  275;  life,  the,  in  tuberculosis,  338;  sleeping,  340,  349. 
Over-dressing,  dangers  of,  58. 
Over-drinking,  194. 
Over-eating,  effects  of,  79;  how  prevented,  147;  in  general,  160; 

of  proteins,  168,  354;  and  condiments,  170 
Over-training,  results,  41. 
Over-working  the  kidneys,  198. 
Oxidase,  37. 

Oxidation  of  water  impurities,  191 ;  of  toxins,  241. 
Oxygen  exchange  in  lungs,  26;  a  tonic,  29;  essential  to  life,  31; 

in  the  blood,  31;  the  fuel  of  the  vital  fire,  274;  the  vital  fire; 

349;  nature's  tonic,  350;  and  outdoor  life,  351. 
Oysters,  in  general,  123;  poisoning  by,  133;  composition,  calories, 

etc.,  378. 
Ozone,  269. 


Packs,  wet  sheet,  211. 

Pain,  purpose  of,  2,  347;  baths   for,  210;  killers,  dangers  of, 

265 ;  mission  of,  265. 
Pajamas,  61. 

Pale  skin,  baths  for,  207. 
Pancreas,  anatomy  of,  65. 
Pancreatic  juice,  73. 
Pandemic  diseases,  311. 
Parasites,   in   drinking   water,   190;   animal,   disease-cause,   311; 

carried  by  animals,  333 ;-  and  pets,  336. 
Parsnips,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 
Partridge,  calories,  etc.,  378. 


410  INDEX 

Pasteur  institutes,  337. 

Pasteurizing  milk,  66,  151. 

Pastries,  adulteration  of,  137;  dangers  from,  171. 

Patent  medicines,  in  the  spring,  217;  in  general,  344. 

Pawlow,  physiological  experiments  of,  69;  stomach  of  dog,  71. 

Pawpaw,  enzymes  of,  66. 

Peaches,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Peanuts,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Pears,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Peas,  green,  120;  dried,  127;  green,  composition,  etc.,  376;  dried, 
composition,  calories,  etc.,  379. 

Pecans,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Pepper,  141. 

Pepsin,  secretion  of,  68. 

Peptogenic  foods,  154. 

Peristalsis,  76. 

Personality,  265. 

Perversion  of  instincts,  2. 

Perverted  breathing,  56;  taste,  171. 

Pets  as  disease-carriers,  336,  361. 

Pharynx,  the,  25. 

Physics  of  light,  15;  of  water,  176;  of  the  atmosphere,  268. 

Physical  exercise,  41 ;  exercise  and  the  mind,  46 ;  work  and  di- 
gestion, 174;  causes  of  worry,  287;  treatment  of  worry,  298. 

Physiology  of  breathing,  26;  of  muscles,  35;  of  digestion,  65; 
of  water  drinking,  179;  of  kidneys,  196;  of  skin,  196;  of  cir- 
culation, 213 ;  of  brain,  252 ;  of  nerves,  252. 

Pickles,   141. 

Pie-plant,  67. 

Pies,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  381. 

Pigeon,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  378. 

Pignolia  nuts,  117. 

Pike,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  378. 

Pin  worms,  333. 

Pine  nuts,  117;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Pineapple,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  373. 

Pink  eye,  320. 

Plague,  conquest  of,  3;  bubonic,  332;  the  great  black,  345. 

Plants,  2;  food  builders,  16;  in  sleeping  rooms,  16;  respiration 
of,  16;  energy  gatherers,  17;  starch  builders,  80;  salt  builders, 
82. 


INDEX  411 

Pleura,  the,  26. 

Pleurisy,  cause  of,  26. 

Plums,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Pneumonia  germs,  u  ;  from  exposure,  50,  59;  a  house  disease, 
274;  death  rate  of,  274;  where  contracted,  277. 

Poison,  fly,  330. 

Poisoned  foods,  129. 

Poisons,  destroyed  by  exercise,  46;  elimination  of,  46;  as  a  dis- 
ease carrier,  309;  animal,  310;  germ,  310;  mineral,  310;  vege- 
table, 310. 

Polluted  wells,  188. 

Poor  appetite,  foods  for,  154. 

Pork,  123;  inspection  of,  334;  trichina  in,  334;  composition,  cal- 
ories, etc.,  378. 

Portal  congestion,  how  relieved,  32;  circulation,  the,  215. 

Posture,  standing  and  sitting,  38. 

Potatoes,  Irish,  121 ;  sweet,  121 ;  sweet,  composition,  calories,  etc., 
376;  Irish,  composition,  etc.,  376. 

Poultry,  122. 
•Prayer,  264;  therapeutic  value  of,  297. 

Precipitation  of  water  impurities,  191. 

Preserved  meats,  131. 

Prevention  of  disease,  the,  306,  361. 

Prolapsus  of  internal  organs,  38. 

Protein,  assimilation  of,  78;  element  of  nutrition,  79;  elimination 
of,  79;  daily  requirements,  85,  86;  habit,  the,  85;  per  cent  in 
foods,  87;  in  hyperacidity,  155;  excess  of,  167;  animal,  168; 
ashes,  influence  of,  168;  over-eating  of,  168,  354;  vegetable, 
168;  cooking  of,  174;  ashes,  and  the  kidney,  198. 

Protoplasm,  6. 

Protose,  calories,  etc.,  375. 

Proverbs  and  worry,  281. 

Prunes,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Ptyalin  of  the  saliva,  67. 

Public  buildings,  ventilation,  276,  349 ;  drinking  cup,  320,  361 ; 
funerals,  dangers,  323 ;  libraries,  disease  dangers,  324. 

Puddings,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  381. 

Pulmonary  artery,  25;  circulation,  25,  214;  vein,  25. 

Pulse,  the,  216. 

Pumpkins,   119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 


412  INDEX 

Pure  air,  natural  tonic,  28;  food  laws,  133;  water  drinking,  176. 
Purification  of  water,  190. 

Q 

Quarantine,  341. 

Quinine,  effects  on  leucocytes,  359. 


Rabbits,  123;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  378. 

Race  and  disease  causes,  307. 

Radishes,  121 ;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Radium,  22. 

Railway  sewage,  324. 

Rainfall,  evaporation  of,  22. 

Rainwater,  185. 

Raisins,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Raspberries,  113;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Ration,  the  balanced,  143. 

"  Rats,"  cause  of  headache,  61. 

Rats  as  disease-carriers,  332,  362;  and  trichina,  334. 

Raw  foods,  150;  disease  dangers,  323;  required  daily,  353. 

Raw  meat,  dangers,  334. 

Raw  pork,  dangers,  362. 

Rays  of  light  and  heat,  15. 

Reading  at  meals,  175. 

Reason,  animal,  264. 

Recreation,  value  of,  259,  359;  wholesome,  360. 

Red  blood  corpuscles,  10,  214;  in  respiration,  26. 

"  Reducing  "  diet,  158. 

Reflex  action,  253. 

Reformed  chairs,  39. 

Regular  exercises,  41;  bathing,   195,  357;  bathing,  a  necessity, 

357;  rest,  essential,  359. 
Relapsing  fever,  333. 
Religion,  human  characteristic,  264;  and  worry,  285;  value  of, 

297. 

Relishes,  adulteration  of,  140;  falsely  named,  171. 
Rennin,  action  of,  68. 
Respiration,   muscles   of,   26;    external,   26;   physiology  of,   26; 

process  of,  26;  rate  of,  27;  and  mind,  30;  and  digestion,  32; 

and  the  blues,  33;  and  exercise,  41. 


INDEX  413 

Rest  in  lowering  high  blood  pressure,  228;  and  sleep,  250;  men- 
tal, 359- 

Resting  posture,  260;  natural,  360. 

Retina,  the,  255. 

Reverse  action  of  enzymes,  66;  peristalsis,  76. 

Rheumatism,  79;  low  protein  diet,  85;  diet  in,  158;  drinking 
water  in,  193 ;  baths  for,  205. 

Rhubarb,  calories,  etc.,  376. 

Rice,  109;  comppsition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Roots,  power  exerted  by,  22. 

Round  worms,  333. 

Rubber  heels,  53. 

Rugs,  316. 

"  Run  down  "  feeling,  31. 

Rye,  109;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 


Sabbath  day's  rest,  259,  260. 

Saccharine,  142. 

Sago,  109;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Salads,  food  tables,  etc.,  381. 

Salicylic  acid,  134. 

Saliva,  the,  67;  and  condiments,  174. 

Salivary  glands,  the,  64. 

Salmon,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Saloons,  232. 

Salsify,  121. 

Salt,  doubtful  value,  82;  common  table,  166;  mineral,  167;  vege- 
table, 167;  excess,  dangers  of,  354. 

Salts,  bile,  72;  mineral,  in  nutrition,  82. 

Sanitation,  306,  361. 

Sauerkraut,   composition,   etc.,   377. 

Sausage,  adulteration  of,   133. 

"Scaling"  in  contagious  diseases,  318. 

Scarlet  fever,  and  milk,  134,  335;  sequelae,  311;  contagion  of, 
318;  and  pets,  336;  and  sweat  shops,  345. 

School  children,  stunting  of,  276;  rooms,  lighting,  276;  ventila- 
tion, 276;  children  and  fresh  air,  349. 

Science  and  conquest  of  disease,  130. 

Screens,  328. 


414  INDEX 

Screw-worms,  333. 

Scrofula,  245. 

Sea  water,  187;  bathing,  203;  food,  a  disease-carrier,  336. 

"  Second  wind,"  the,  45. 

"  Secretin,"  a  chemical  messenger,  73. 

Secretion,  of  gastric  juice,  69;  theory  of,  75;  of  urine,  198. 

Sedimentation  of  water,  190. 

Self-resistive  exercises,  43,  352;  poisoning  and  high  pressure, 
225;  consciousness  and  worry,  283;  control  and  worry,  291, 
359;  interest  and  worry,  295. 

Sensations,  neglect  of,  292. 

Senses,  the  special,  255. 

Sensible  clothing,  352. 

Sensory  nerves,  action  of,  252. 

Sewage,  lake,   189;  railway,  324. 

Shad,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

"  Sham   feeding  "of  dogs,  71. 

Shivering,  object  of,  36. 

Shoes,  52;  French  heel,  52;  thin-soled,  352. 

"  Short  sleeved  "  garments,  58. 

Sick  headache,  diet  in,  85. 

Sighing,  27. 

Sight,  sense  of,  255 ;  centre  of  brain,  256. 

Silk  as  a  heat  conductor,  49. 

Silk-worms,  2. 

Sitting  posture,  the,  38;  improper,  40. 

Skin,  the,  area  of,  8;  epithelium  of,  8;  diseases,  ancient,  19;  in 
blood  purification,  29;  improved  by  exercise,  46;  in  general, 
*9S '>  physiology  of,  196;  pale,  196;  care  of,  197;  nerves  of, 
197;  pale,  baths  for,  207;  germ-proof,  235;  elimination  of 
germs,  236;  disease,  spread  of,  320;  disease,  and  books,  324. 

Skirts,  how  to  suspend,  58;  heavy,  353. 

Sleep,  and  nervous  system,  36;  and  blood  pressure,  228;  in  gen- 
eral, 250 ;  and  energy  granules,  253 ;  and  hearing,  256 ;  value 
off  259 ;  posture  in,  260 ;  requisites  for  sound,  260 ;  worry  about, 
293;  relation  to  worry,  296;  amount  required,  359;  conditions 
favoring,  360. 

Sleeping  rooms,  plants  in,  16;  porches,  275;  car  berths,  319; 
sickness,  330;  outdoor,  349. 

Sleeplessness,  baths  for,  204;  from  drugs,  244;  in  general,  262. 

Slums,  the  city,  345 ;  a  disease-spreader,  361. 


INDEX  415 

Smallpox,  conquest  of,  130;  vaccination  in,  246;  and  bedbugs, 

332. 

Smell,  sense  of,  256. 
Snake  bites,  310. 
Sneezing,  27. 
Snowball,  energy  of,  24, 
Snowwater,  185. 
Social  causes  of  worry,  289;  treatment  of  worry,  299;  disease, 

spread  of,  345. 

Soda  water,  adulteration  of,  142. 
Sodium  chlorid,  82. 

Soil,  of  disease,  the,  312;  contamination  of,  317. 
Solar  heaters,  21. 
Solar  plexus,  the,  132,  252. 
Soponification,  72. 

Soup,  objections  to,  172;   food  tables,  etc.,  381. 
Sour  stomach,  diet  for,  155. 
Sowing  and  reaping,  347. 
Spectroscope,  16. 
Speech,  28. 
Spiders,  2. 

Spinach,  composition,  etc.,  376. 
Spinal  cord,  cells  of,  14;  curvature  and  chairs,  38;  how  formed, 

254- 

Spine,  curvature  of,  33;  natural  curve  of,  38. 
Spiritual  causes  of  worry,  285;  nutrition,  the,  297;  therapeutics, 

297. 

Spitting  and  tuberculosis,  18,  338. 

Spring  tonics,  delusion  of,  29;  water,  185;  tonics,  217. 
Squashes,  120;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 
Squirrels  and  the  plague,  332. 
Stair-climbing  exercises,  42. 
Standing  position,  proper,  40. 
Starch,    formation    of,    16;    digestion    of,   67;    digestion   of,    in 

stomach,  75;  assimilation  of,  78;  elimination  of,  79;  form  of, 

80;  element  in  nutrition,  80;   fuel  value  of,  84;  cooking  of, 

no,  174;  insufficient  cooking  of,  171. 
Starvation,  309. 

Steamship  berths,  disease  dangers,  319. 
Steapsin,  73. 
Stomach  action  and  breathing,  32;  anatomy  of,  64;  emptying  of, 


41 6  INDEX 

69;  sample,  of  dogs,  71;  and  solid  food,  72,  76;  dilated,  cause, 
72;  why  does  not  digest  itself,  74;  movements  of,  75;  bitters, 
148;  sour,  153;  catarrh  of,  diet,  156;  rest  necessary  for,  161. 

Straw  hats,  60. 

Strawberries,  115;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Street  dust,  dangers,  315;  sprinkling,  316;  cars  and  disease,  319. 

Strenuous  life,  the,  226;  effects  of,  358. 

Sturgeon,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Succotash,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Suffocation,  309. 

Sugar,  formation  of,  16;  assimilation  of,  78;  elimination  of,  79; 
fruit,  81 ;  fuel  value,  84 ;  adulteration  of,  138 ;  laxative  effects, 
155;  excess,  dangers  of,  354;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  381. 

Sugar  cane,  adulteration  of,  139;  in  general,  165;  effects  on  di- 
gestion, 166. 

Suggestion  in  treatment  of  worry,  294;  true  and  false,  294, 

Suggestive  therapeutics,  196. 

Sulphur  a  disinfectant,  34;  laxative,  218;  fumigant,  315. 

Sun  energy,  21. 

Sunbaths,  method  of  taking,  20;  value  of,  20;  in  high  pressure, 
228,  daily,  348. 

Sunburn,  16,  197. 

Sunlight,  15;  chlorophyl,  action  on,  16;  germicidal  action,  17;  vi- 
tal resistance  and,  18;  and  children,  20;  effects  on  carpets,  20; 
disinfectant  action,  348;  and  health,  348. 

Sunshine,  16 ;  and  the  home,  19 ;  fountain  of  energy,  348. 

Sunstroke,  treatment  of,  21;  favored  by,  47. 

Supporters,  abdominal,  57. 

Suprarenal   gland,   196. 

Supreme  Being,  trust  in,  291,  298. 

Surgical  operations  and  social  diseases,  346. 

Swamps,  drainage,  and  mosquitoes,  332. 

Sweat  glands,  8;  pores,  area  of,  8;  daily,  44;  area  of,  195. 

Sweat  shops  and  disease,  345. 

Sweetbreads,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Swimming,  precautions  in,  209. 

Swine  and  trichina,  333. 

Sympathetic  nerves,  13,  36;  muscles,  and,  36;  anatomy  of,  251; 
physiology  of,  254. 

Syphilis,  hereditary,  266;  spread  of,  320;  extent  of,  346. 

Syrup,  adulteration  of,  139. 


INDEX  417 

T 

Table  of  foods  containing  100  calories,  97. 

Tapioca,   109 ;  composition,'  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Tarantula,  i. 

Taste  buds,  64. 

Taste,  perverted,  171 ;  sense  of,  257. 

Tea,  action  on  saliva,  67 ;  in  high  blood  pressure,  223 ;  drinker's 
disorder,  224 ;  nerve  poison,  263 ;  predisposes  to  disease,  344 ; 
stimulant  action,  354. 

Teeth,  the,  64;  cleansing  of,  211. 

Temperature  of  house,  272;  of  living  rooms,  349. 

Tendons,  9. 

Therapeutics,  suggestive,  196;  spiritual,  297. 

Thinking  in  relation  to  breathing,  30;  process  of,  258. 

Thorax,  the,  26. 

Thorium,  22. 

Thrush,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Thyroid  gland  and  toxins,  241. 

Tight  lacing  and  decadence,  56. 

"  Tired  feeling,"  baths  for,  207. 

Tissue,  subcutaneous,  9. 

Tissues,  bodily,  7. 

Toasts,  food  tables  of,  380. 

Tobacco,  sunstroke,  and,  21 ;  saliva,  effects  of,  on,  67 ;  and 
high  blood  pressure,  222 ;  amount  used,  223 ;  nerve  poison, 
263 ;  predisposes  to  disease,  344. 

Tomatoes,  116;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Tonic  bathing,  206. 

Tonic,  baths  a  natural,  200. 

Touch,  sense  of,  257. 

Toxins,  destroyed  by  exercise,  46;  elimination  of,  236;  diluted, 
how,  240;  how  destroyed,  240;  liver  action  on,  241;  oxida- 
tion of,  241. 

Trachea,  the,  25. 

"  Trains,"  fashionable,  60. 

Trees,  exhalations  of,  22. 

Trout,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Trunk  bending  in  constipation,  44. 

Trypsin,  73. 

Tuberculosis,  sunlight  in,  17;  spread  by  spitting,  18,  338;  sun- 


418  INDEX 

baths  for,  20;  not  inherited,  266;  a  house  disease,  274;  and 
domestic  pets,  336;  death  rate,  337;  how  contracted,  338;  cure 
°f»  3395  prevention  of,  339;  in  sweat  shops,  345. 

Turbinate  bones,  25. 

Tumors  and  corsets,  55. 

Turkey,  composition,  calories,   etc.,  378. 

Turnips,  119;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Turtle,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Typhoid  fever  and  milk,  335. 

U 

Ulcer,  how  caused,  69;  gastric,  diet  in,  157. 

Underclothing,  question  of,  59. 

Underwear,  cotton  and  linen,  59,  353. 

Union  suit,  the,  60. 

Unsanitary  surroundings,  313. 

Urinary  tubules,  196;  deposits,  198. 

Urine,  secretion  of,  198;  disinfection  of,  318. 


Vaccination,  theory  of,  246;  in  general,  311. 

Veal,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Vegetable  oyster,  121;  juices,  aid  to  digestion,  155;  poisons,  dis- 
ease-cause, 310. 

Vegetables,  118;  cooking  of,  174;  disease-carriers,  316;  food  ta- 
bles, 375;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  377. 

Vegetarianism,  169. 

Veils,  effect  on  eyes,  60. 

Veins,  structure  of,  10,  213. 

Velocity  of  light,  15. 

Venereal  diseases,  346. 

Venison,  123,  composition,  etc.,  378. 

Ventilation,  problem  of,  19;  of  the  cellar,  20;  in  general,  270; 
stove,  270;  and  the  chimney,  271 ;  air  changes,  271 ;  air  required, 
271 ;  air  flushing,  272 ;  inlets  and  outlets,  273 ;  and  poisonous 
gases,  273 ;  industrial,  275 ;  of  bedrooms,  275 ;  of  public  build- 
ings, 276;  of  schools,  276;  of  lecture  halls,  277;  and  disease, 

3I9- 
Villi,  intestinal,  76. 


INDEX  419 

Vinegar,  action  on  saliva,  67;  adulteration  of,  141;  in  high  blood 

pressure,  229. 
Vital  resistance  and  sunlight,  18,  348;  how  to  increase,  247;  how 

lowered,  313;  and  the  soil,  349. 
Vocal  cords,  the,  25. 
Voice  box,  the,  25. 
Voice,  the  human,  28. 
Voluntary  muscles,  9,  35;  nerves,  13. 

W 

Waist,  constriction  of,  54;  measurements  of,  55. 

"Waking  up  tired"  feeling,  360. 

Walking  exercises,  42,  352;  in  constipation,  44. 

Walnuts,   117. 

Wands,  43. 

Water,  expansion  of,  24 ;  element  of  nutrition,  83 ;  drinking,  pure, 
I3i>  316,  356;  drinking,  physiology  of,  179;  daily  requirement, 
181 ;  ideal  beverage,  183,  356;  purified  by  fruit  acid,  184;  sources 
of,  185;  river,  186;  well,  186;  lake,  187;  hard,  187;  distilled, 
187,  192;  soft,  187;  contamination  of,  188;  sedimentation  of, 
190;  parasites  in,  190;  purification  of,  190;  sparkling,  190; 
worms  in,  190 ;  adulterated,  192 ;  boiled,  192 ;  in  disease,  193 ; 
carbonated,  194;  drinking  in  low  pressure,  233. 

Water  plants,  191. 

Water-proof  clothing,  52. 

Watermelons,  116;  calories,  etc.,  374. 

Weather,  worry  about,  280. 

Wells,  polluted,  188;  driven,  189. 

Wet  sheet  packs,  211. 

Wheat,  no;  composition,  calories,  etc.,  371. 

Whey,  379. 

Whisper,  28. 

White  blood  cells,  358. 

White  blood  corpuscles,  II ;  germ  destroyers,  n,  243,  244;  in  old 
age,  12;  wall  of,  239;  digestive  function  of,  240. 

White  fibrous  tissue,  9. 

White  fish,  composition,  calories,  etc.,  378. 

Whooping  cough,  sequelae,  311. 

Whortleberries,  113. 

Wiley,  Dr.,  on  food  preservatives,  131. 


420  INDEX 

Windows,  value  of,  348. 

Windpipe,  the,  25. 

Woman,  why  weaker  vessel,  53. 

Woman,  breathing  of,  27. 

Wool,  a  heat  conductor,  49. 

Work,  average  day's,  42;  enjoyable,  43,  300;  promotes  diges- 
tion, 44;  vs.  rust,  283. 

World,  velocity  of,  23 ;  weight  of,  23. 

Worms,  in  water,  190;  intestinal,  317;  hook,  333;  pin,  333;  round, 
333;  screw,  333;  tape,  333;  from  domestic  pets,  336. 

Worry,  relation  to  sunstroke,  21;  relation  to  breathing,  30;  di- 
gestion, effects  on,  71;  cause  of  high  pressure,.  225;  general 
causes  of,  278;  definition  of,  278;  temperamental,  279;  mental 
causes  of,  282;  circle,  the,  282;  moral  causes  of,  285;  spiritual 
causes  of,  285;  diseases  of,  285;  religion  in,  286;  physical 
causes  of,  287;  childish,  287;  habit,  the,  288;  old  age,  288;  re- 
sults of,  288;  industrial  causes  of,  289;  social  causes  of,  289; 
cure  of,  291;  self-control  and,  291;  fictitious,  292;  mental 
therapeutics  in,  204;  suggestion  in,  294;  selfishness  in,  295; 
about  worry,  296;  moral  therapeutics  in,  297;  physical  treat- 
ment of,  298;  social  therapeutics  in,  299;  fraudulent  treatment 
of,  301;  uselessness  of,  359;  tired  feelings  in,  360. 

Wounds,  danger  of  tetanus,  317. 


X-rays,  23. 


Yale  University,  diet  tests,  169. 

Yawning,  27. 

Yeast  plant,  5. 

Yellow  elastic  tissue,  9. 

Yellow  fever,  conquest  of,  130;  and  mosquitoes,  331. 

Z 

Zwieback,  calories,  etc.,  372. 


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